Elderly man dies after two house fires on neighbouring roads
A man in his 70s has died after two 'significant' house fires occurred at the same time on neighbouring roads.
Officers were called to the fires at properties on Lunt Place and Marbury Drive in Bilston, near Wolverhampton, shortly after 2am on Saturday, West Midlands Police said.
The man was found dead at the Marbury Drive address.
Four other people were taken to hospital with non life-threatening injuries, the force said.
Police are working with West Midlands Fire Service to establish the exact circumstances of what happened.
The fire service said it responded to 'two significant house fires in Bilston' in the early hours of Saturday.
It said: 'We were first alerted at 2.19am to a fire at a property in Lunt Place. Crews from surrounding stations responded swiftly, with the first fire engine arriving within three minutes of being mobilised.
'Fire affected around a third of the ground floor of the two-storey, semi-detached house. The entire property was affected by smoke. Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus used hose reels and jets to bring the fire under control.
'Three people were led to safety from the first floor. A fourth was located outside. All were treated at the scene by paramedics and taken to hospital. Their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
'At 2.30am, we were called to a second house fire on nearby Marbury Drive. This involved a detached, two-storey house, with fire affecting virtually all of the property.
'Our crews worked in challenging conditions to contain and extinguish the fire. Sadly, a man believed to be in his 70s was confirmed to have died at the scene.'
Cordons will remain in place in the area.
Anyone who was in the area at the time of the fire should contact police via 101 or Live Chat, quoting log 379 of May 10.
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