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A 12-year-old girl and her 8-year-old brother died after a fire destroyed the inside of their home in Inami, Hyogo Prefecture, on Monday morning.
According to police, flames were seen coming from the two-story wooden building at around 12:30 a.m. Fuji TV reported that the owner, Ryuichi Fujimoto, called 119 to report that flames were rising from the first floor which had a storeroom, to the residence above.
Fifteen fire trucks were mobilized to fight the blaze which took about 3 1/2 hours to extinguish.
The two children were taken to hospital where they were pronounced dead. They were identified as Iroha and her brother Soichiro. Their parents sustained minor burns. The father, who had been sleeping on the first floor, said the flames were so intense that he could not get upstairs to rescue his children. His wife was also unable to get into the children's room.
A neighbor said that the family had held a barbecue earlier Sunday night in the garden. Firefighters believe the fire may have been caused by the grill which was left in the storeroom.
© Japan Today
17 Comments
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UlsterBoy
Heartbreakingly sad. RIP young ones.
Goodlucktoyou
Just replaced the batteries in all my smoke alarms. Test every month.
Michael G
So, the parents decided to choose the minor burns instead of their children. I would have risked dying trying to save my children, or even their children. Anyone's children. Minor burns, pfah. Imagine the children screaming for help. I wouldn't feel the pain of the flames until after it was all over.
CaptDingleheimer
When I visited my in-laws in Japan last month, I installed smoke detectors throughout their house and strategically placed a few fire extinguishers about. Nobody knew what the darned things were.
yorkiebob
Michael G:
"So, the parents decided to choose the minor burns..."
It's very easy being brave sitting at a keyboard.
juminRhee
Suspicious...
mmwkdw
It's actually a bit suspicious.... wont be surprised if followup arrests occur.
mmwkdw
Testing your Smoke Alarms monthly is pointless. Doing so, reduces battery power necessitates frequent replacement and by doing so, increases chance of damage to the device itself! Test the device 1/2 yearly at max.
mmwkdw
Oh.. and don't bring indoors smoldering embers from your Barbecue... intelligence clearly lacking were that the case.
cleo
Sounds like the fire was between the father and the stairs?
sensei258
who the hell brings a barbecue back inside without first ensuring that everything's been soaked and is completely out, or not having done that, places it near combustible materials. Maybe he had a few too many beers at The barbeque.
ToshiYori
Smoke alarms should also be checked to ensure they are not more than ten years old. Smoke alarms that are more than ten years old should be replaced. Smoke detecting elements of smoke alarms aren't considered reliable after ten years,
thetoleratedone
The mother .
AramaTaihenNoYouDidnt
I suspect foolplay by parents... The whole purpose of being a parent is to nursure, protect and love our off springs!