A fire devastatingly swept through a retirement home leaving six dead in the inferno and more than 80 people in hospital.
The alarm was raised by a staff member in the early hours of this morning (July 7) at the Casa dei Coniugi home for the elderly in southwest Milan, Italy.
Flames terrifyingly spread before firefighters could prevent tragedy.
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Milan's mayor, Giuseppe Sala, said "six deaths is a very heavy toll,” but added that the death toll could’ve been far worse,the BBC reports.
Investigators so far believe that the fire started in the living quarters of two women at the home, Sala said.
He said that while the blaze was quickly contained, the two women in the room died from direct exposure to the fire, while four more died after inhaling too much smoke.
The fire is believed to have broken out on the first floor, leading to smoke rising to the floor above.
The walls in the room next to where the fire starters were blackened, but flames had not burst through before firefighters were able to extinguish it.
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"The fumes are as lethal as the fire," the mayor gravely told reporters.
All 81 people taken to hospital were suffering from smoke poisoning, and 14 are said to be in a serious condition.
The retirement home, in the Corvetto area of southern Milan, housed 167 people who required differing levels of care, reports claimed.
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While it is owned by the city authority, it is run by a group that manages hundreds of residences for the elderly across the country.
Tragically, the residents of the care home weren’t the only ones this week to suffer as a result of a fire.
The Daily Star reportedthat a “hero dad” wasn’t able to save his wife and two kids from a house fire that engulfed their home in Cambridge.
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Scott Peden lost his wife, Gemma Germeney, 31, and his two kids Oliver four, and Lily, eight, in a tragic house fire this week, despite his best efforts to save them. ]
Issuing a statement in the wake of the incident, area commander Stuart Smith of Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "It’s just heartbreaking.
"A fire like this is one of the toughest incidents you can attend as a firefighter."
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