Woman dies after fire rips through house in suspected arson attack

A woman died and a man was said to have jumped from his second-floor window after a suspected arson attack ripped through a south London townhouse.

Residents in Centurian Square, Woolwich, were woken by a loud bang just after 1am before seeing flames take hold.

The victim, believed to be in her late 40s, was found dead inside the three-storey property.

A man in his 60s and a woman in her 50s were taken to hospital from the house but they are not believed to be seriously injured.

The fire is being treated as suspicious, and the Metropolitan Police’s homicide and major crime command have been made aware but are not currently investigating the incident.

Dozens of police, including uniformed officers and forensics teams in full protective body suits, were at the scene on Thursday as dogs searched the wider area for accelerants.

They were joined by a group of people who said they were related to the three, one of whom sobbed as she caught sight of the charred house beyond a wide cordon.

Its windows were open and a diagonal dark scorch mark could be seen stretching from the first to the second floor, while a ground-floor window was smashed.

A neighbour, who did not want to be named, said she heard a loud bang which she thought might have been some sort of gas explosion.

She said: “She was a lovely lady.

“Yesterday I heard the boom so when I came out I just saw the flame and people were screaming. I was just too shocked, I didn’t know what happened.

“When I came there the old man was jumping from the top.

“He was just on the floor, it was horrible, I didn’t want to watch.

“You see stuff like this online but life like this – I knew him, he’s an old man, a very old man.”

Children back from school and other neighbours looked on as a team of officers conducted a sweep inside the cordon.

Officers walked slowly in groups as they searched the road and grass verges surrounding the adjoining blocks.

They also looked under and around several cars parked inside the sealed-off area.

A number of emergency services vehicles including ambulances, forensics vans and fire engines were at the scene.

Residents were asked to sign in and out as they entered or left the secure area.