AN investigation was continuing today into the cause of a fire which claimed the lives of a mother and her three-year-old daughter.

The victims, who have not yet been formally identified, are believed to have been living with members of a peace collective at the house on Kingsway Drive in Acomb, on the edge of York.

There have also been unconfirmed reports that a large number of candles were burning inside the property shortly before the blaze in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Five appliances from Acomb, York and Selby were on the scene within minutes of the first emergency call at 2.57am and took an hour to bring the fire under control.

However they were too late to save the mother, who was pronounced dead at the scene; her daughter died later on the way to hospital.

A man is also fighting for his life in Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield after suffering severe burns. It is believed he also severed an artery when jumping through a first-floor window to safety.

Another man who was inside the house was also taken to York District Hospital suffering for the effects of smoke inhalation, while three neighbours, including a young child, were treated by paramedics at the scene.

''The crews worked exceptionally well and hard under quite harrowing conditions," said paramedic, Dave Butterfield.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service Assistant Divisional Officer, Trevor Lund, added he understood candles were alight in the lounge just before the fire started, but the cause of the blaze had still not been confirmed yesterday.

Police were treating the property as a crime scene immediately after the fire but a brief statement issued today confirmed an examination of the house suggested there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the blaze.

Peace collective member, Denis Pryce, said he believed the woman who died had joined squatters at the so-called Rainbow Peace Hotel in the White Swan Hotel in York earlier this year but had not followed them to The Gimcrack pub when they were evicted.

''We are going to miss her a lot," he said. "She was a big part of the collective. It is really sad."

This is the second tragedy for the group in recent months: At the end of May, one of its members, Lara Saunders, died after falling from a window the day after the group was evicted from the Rainbow Peace Hotel.