Attempted murder charges laid after house fire badly burns girl

A seven-year-old girl suffered serious burns to her face, torso, hands and feet and a 43-year-old man is charged with three counts of attempted murder after a weekend house fire in Windsor.

The Windsor fire department said the fire is an arson.

Police say it happened just before midnight Saturday, on Balfour Boulevard, near Reginald Street.

The girl was in critical condition when she was airlifted to a London hospital. Monday, police said she was still in critical but stable condition.

The girl's mother was burned on one of her hands. An 11-month-old girl in the home was not injured.

"The little girl was hysterical. She was screaming that she was dying and couldn't breathe," neighbour Todd McCandless said.

Scared someone else was in the house, McCandless ran inside to help. He came out with the family dog.

"The baby seemed to be perfectly fine. The little girl looks like her hair was burnt and it was now attached and burnt on to her face, and her hands, her side, her hip area was burnt," McCandless said.

Across the street, Marion Duggan could hear her neighbour yelling.

"She's was screaming and obviously afraid," she said.

Duggan said she saw flames coming out the window, so Duggan ran over to help the girl.

"I could see her hands. Her hands were shiny. I could see skin hanging from her hands. Just bad," Duggan said.

Police arrested a Windsor man at the scene.

Officers say the 43-year-old man is known to the woman living in the house.