Boy caught in house fire dies

Tributes to little boy were left outside the house

A two-year-old boy who was rescued from a house fire in west Belfast by passing council workers has died in hospital.

He was Nathan Rafferty from Fort Street, off the Springfield Road.

Refuse collecters and a neighbour fought their way into his home shortly after 0830 BST on Wednesday to bring him to safety.

They had to get up a burning staircase to rescue him.

The toddler was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital where he later died from his injuries.

The child's mother and three-year-old brother, who were also in the house, were discharged from hospital following treatment.

It is thought that the fire began upstairs where the younger of the two boys was trapped.

An ambulance crew gave the child emergency treatment at the scene, but when their vehicle would not start again, the boy was rushed to hospital in the back of a police Land Rover.

Council workers rescued child from burning bedroom

On Wednesday night, neighbours and friends gathered outside the child's home to say prayers for him. The actions of the council workers were praised by Jim Boyd from the Fire Service.

"The rescue of a young child was carried out by binmen who were passing at the time," said Mr Boyd.

He said they made three or four attempts to get up the stairs of the burning house to rescue the child.

"The child had serious burns and it was quite an act for the binmen, people not trained in that manner, to go up stairs and carry the child out," he said.

West Belfast MP Gerry Adams said there was a sense of shock and sorrow throughout the local community.

The exact cause of the fire has yet to be established.

On Wednesday, fire officers said the smoke alarm had sounded - but this fire was quick to spread.