Mother and 7 children killed in house fire ‘started by faulty clothes dryer turned on at night when electricity was cheaper’

A MOTHER and her seven children died horrifically in a house fire after a malfunctioning clothes dryer ignited overnight, investigators believe.

The family was killed in the fire that broke out just after midnight at their town house in Charly-sur-Marne, 80km east of Paris.

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Nearly 80 firefighters struggled to put out the blaze as the mother and her children were trapped upstairs.

Rescuers are said to have struggled to use their ladders to reach the top windows of the house on the narrow street.

Fire chief Jean-Claude Ouguel said: “The house was completely destroyed. Only the side walls are still standing.”

The sole survivor of the tragic incident is the wife’s husband and father of three of the children, who suffered severe burns.

Police fear he unknowingly sealed the brood’s fate by telling them to stay upstairs while he examined the smoke.

The property’s electric shutters were also blocked due to a power outage, preventing them from escaping the fumes.

The children – five girls and two boys between the ages of two and 14 – died of asphyxiation, local prosecutor Julien Morino-Ros said.

He revealed the deadly fire appeared to have been caused by a malfunctioning downstairs clothes dryer.

There was initially no information about the type of tumble dryer, its manufacturer, or its service history.

It is believed that the family turned on the device in the early hours of the morning when electricity costs are cheaper.

Mr Morino-Ros confirmed that – in line with the judicial process in such cases – a criminal investigation into manslaughter had been opened.

Sylvie Corré, the wife of the owner of the rental property, said of the tragedy: “I hope with all my heart that the deceased did not feel any pain or see anything.

“We were on the street all night and watched the horror.”

She explained that the father worked for her family’s champagne company and described him as an “excellent employee”.

Slyvi said the couple are in their 40s and — along with their children — very popular in the area.

The father spent one night in hospital, his condition was described later Monday as “stable and not life-threatening”.

The official cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but the French public prosecutor’s office has started investigations.

The deadly inferno, which also damaged neighboring properties, was finally extinguished after several hours.

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