Omagh blaze girl died calling 999

Trapped and panic stricken Caroline McElhill, 13, managed to get through to an operator to alert the fire service in Omagh, Co Tyrone, but it was too late to save them and she was later found dead in the ruins of the house clutching a phone in one hand and her rosary beads in the other.

All seven members of the family, including Arthur McElhill, 36, who is suspected of starting the blaze were killed in the inferno a fortnight ago after petrol was sprinkled in the hallway and lounge, and then ignited at the bottom of the stairs.

Caroline made the desperate call for help at 4.54am as the flames began to spread and take hold before the roof collapsed.

Shocking new details of what happened inside the end of terrace house at Lammy Crescent just before the blaze began were disclosed as police confirmed they were not looking for anybody else in connection with the tragedy.

They stopped short of naming McElhill at the chief suspect, but Detective Chief Superintendent Norman Baxter who is heading up the investigation disclosed he is to nominate Caroline for a posthumous award in recognition of her bravery.

He said: "This was a young girl, an emblem of innocence, with the courage to seek help and turning to her faith in the midst of fear and danger."

Caroline's two sisters, Bellina, 4, and Clodagh, 18 months, and her two brothers, Sean, 7 and baby James, just nine months and their mother Lorraine McGovern, 29, were all alive before the house burst into flames, police said.

Post mortem examinations said they died of smoke inhalation in different rooms on the top floor.

Friends and neighbours of the teenage girl tonight said her bravery and the manner in which she acted at a time of unimaginable distress had left them shocked.