Twin babies were killed, and their father seriously injured, when a fire broke out in their home in northwest France on Saturday, firefighters said.

“The fire brigade responded to a fire in a single-family dwelling on the ground floor, which was completely engulfed in flames when emergency services arrived”, said the fire service in the Loire-Atlantique region.

The 13-month-old twins died and their 40-year-old father suffered serious injuries.

Fourteen fire engines were mobilised to put out the blaze. “Psychological support was provided on site”, said the fire service.

The fire was the second deadly blaze of the day in France following a fire in the early hours of the morning in a northern Paris suburb which killed three people and injured eight, including a child who is in a critical condition, officials said.

READ ALSO: Three killed in fire near Paris

Police said the fire started at 2:00 am (0100 GMT) on the ground floor of the building in Stains, an immigrant-majority town about 15 kilometres (nine miles) from Paris.

Twenty-four fire engines and 88 firefighters battled to douse the blaze and one fireman was slightly injured.

More than 300,000 house fires are reported in France every year according to the French Interior Ministry. The most recent figures date back to 2021 and show that 460 people died in fires that year.