Derbyshire house fire: seven-year-old girl escaped but four died Chief Inspector Rick Gooch of Derbyshire Police said: "The investigation...is at its early stage. I can give reassurance that the police and fire service are trying to establish very soon the cause of the fire. It's a tragic event, the impact on the community is obviously recognised and together we're working through that with the family. Specially trained officers are working with the family to take this forward. None of the victims of the fire has yet been formally identified and police said they were still trying to established who they were. Fire fighters were alerted to the blaze by a neighbour at 4.59am. Kam Basri, area manager, described the conditions they had faced as "quite arduous," with the house being "thoroughly smoke-logged." The injuries sustained by the girl who escaped were said to be consistent with smoke inhalation. Pete Ripley, Divisional Director for East Midlands Ambulance Service said: "This was a particularly tragic incident, and we are providing our staff with all the support necessary to help them deal with the distressing situation they encountered." Neighbours of the four who were killed paid tributes to them. Marjorie Marples said: "My heart goes out to the family of those who have died and to those people who were dear to them. It must be awful. I did not hear the sirens but my son-in-law and daughter-in-law couldn't get to work easily because of the cordoned off area and I didn't know what had happened. Relatives of those killed who arrived at the scene were too upset to comment. The blaze is the fourth in Derbyshire in just three-and-a-half years in which children have died. In April 2010, five-year-old Niamh Adams and her brother Cayden, two, were killed in a fire at their home in Buxton. Their mother, Fiona Adams, was charged with their murders but later cleared. Tommy Henson, nine, Alisha Henson-Nulty, six, Rocco Henson-Nulty, four, and Appolonia Henson, two, died after a stray spark from an unguarded log fire started a fire in their house in Hulland Ward in January 2011. The children's mother, Rachel Henson, escaped the flames. In May last year Jade Philpott, 10, and her brothers Duwayne, 13, John, nine, Jack, eight, Jesse, six, and Jayden, five, were killed when their father Mick started a blaze at their semi-detached home in Derby, helped by their mother Mairead and a family friend, Paul Mosley. Philpott was jailed for life for manslaughter, while Mairead and Mosley received 17 years each.