Blaze tragedy house to be levelled

The fire claimed three generations of the same family

A west Wales house in which four people from the same family died when it was gutted by fire last month is set to be demolished.

Larrine Balbini, 42, her daughter Lana, 22, and grandsons Stuart, three, and Shane, one, were killed in the blaze in Tumble, Carmarthenshire on 26 November.

The family members were buried together earlier this month.

The blaze quickly swept through the house

Larrine's two sons Leighton and Lyndon managed to escape the fire.

Now the fire-damaged property onthe Maesgwern Estate is due to be demolished on health safety grounds.

There are no plans to rebuild anything on the site. The ferocity of the blaze caused the roof of the house to collapse and made rescue attempts impossible.

The four victims were asleep in the bedrooms but Lana's two brothers Leighton and Lyndon - who were sleeping downstairs - managed to escape.

The four were buried at Tumble community cemetery on Tuesday afternoon, following a service at Dewi Sant church.

Shane Balbini was the blaze's youngest victim

Hundreds of people attended the service at Dewi Sant church, which was conducted by the Reverend Mandy Williams-Potter.

All four blaze victims were buried in one grave, with the young brothers, Stewart and Shane, who were three and one, were buried in white children's coffins.

Flowers from their 19-year-old father Craig spelt out the word 'Sons'.

Among the mourners were Larine Balbini's grown-up sons Leighton and Lyndon, who managed to escape the house on the night of the fire.

Also present was Larine Balbini's husband, Andrew, who was granted compassionate leave from Swansea Prison to attend the funerals.

Three-year-old Stuart Balbini died in the blaze

The tragedy has had a "tremendous" effect on local people and police have been working to help the community.

It had not been possible to enter the house immediately after the fire to recover the victims' bodies because of the extensive damage.

Neighbours described hearing "an explosion" when the force of the blaze meant rescue crews had to retreat from the property.

Police have confirmed the deaths are being treated as a tragic accident, and there will be no criminal investigation.

A file on the case has been sent to the coroner.