Two charged in fatal Winnipeg house fire

Police in Winnipeg have arrested two people in connection with a fatal blaze that killed a 14-year-old boy.

Riel Mitchell, 27, and a 16-year-old were arrested and charged with the second degree murder of Nathan Starr, who died in a house fire early Tuesday morning. He was just one of 11 people inside.

The other ten managed to escape, but Starr was trapped on the third floor. He was rushed to hospital but later died.

Many more of the residents inside could have been hurt, if it wasn't for the quick action of two police officers who just happened to be driving by when the fire started.

They say that they witnessed two people toss something on to the front porch and race off. Const. Thane Chartrand and Const. Lindsay Cancilla chased after the suspects but quickly abandoned the pursuit. Instead, they rushed to the house, trying to save trapped residents after flames went quickly out of control.

Inside they saw people who had to "literally crawl under the flames just to get to the back of the house where a side door was," Chartrand told CTV Winnipeg.

"And then you could hear other people saying, 'Oh, my God, there's a fire! There's a fire!'"

The side door was shut, however. So the officers directed those inside to the back of the house. They tried to smash open a window, but it was too high up.

Then one of the residents broke through another window and the officers helped them out, one by one.

"All these kids started coming out ... women, and this guy, and this old lady. You wondered when it was going to stop," Chartrand said.

Police say they don't believe anyone inside the house was targeted, and they haven't released details of a possible motive.