TWO young people suffered severe burns following a blaze in a house of multiple occupancy.
A 12-year-old girl and an 18-year-old boy received burns to their arms, hands and faces in a fire in Heygate Avenue, Southend.
The two youngsters managed to escape the burning building before firefighters arrived at 2.15am.
However, crews feared someone was still trapped in a loft conversion in the roof of the house.
They searched the three-storey building and found it empty but still had to spend two hours tackling the blaze to prevent it spreading to nearby homes.
Firefighters were unable to get an aerial platform to the scene because the road was congested by parked cars.
Instead, ladders were pitched against the roof of the building as they tackled the flames.
The injured youngsters were taken to Southend Hospital, before being moved to the specialist burns unit at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford.
The fire was not thought to be suspicious but an investigation is being carried out by the fire service and scenes of crime investigators.
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