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Three children dead after suspicious fire in Toowoomba home Toowoomba woman in critical condition under police guard after three of her children die in suspicious house fire
(about 2 hours later)
A nine-year-old boy is believed to have died in the fire while girls aged four and 11 died later in hospital from critical burns A nine-year-old boy is believed to have died in the fire while girls aged four and seven died later in hospital from critical burns
Two young children have died in hospital after a ferocious fire at a family home, taking the death toll to three. A mother-of-five is fighting for her life after three of her children died in a horrific house fire.
The house in suburban Harristown in Toowoomba, about 130km west of Brisbane in the Darling Downs region, went up in flames in the early hours of Wednesday. Police are hopeful the 36-year-old woman’s condition will improve, saying they aim to speak to her about the blaze that engulfed the family home west of Brisbane.
Six people, including two adults and four children who are believed to be related, escaped the blaze. The Toowoomba house has been declared a crime scene with police treating the fire as suspicious, calling in homicide detectives.
Two of the children – girls aged four and seven – suffered critical burns and died at Queensland Children’s Hospital on Wednesday night after being airlifted to Brisbane. The woman remains under police guard in a Brisbane hospital after the death toll from the devastating family house fire rose to three.
A body, believed to be that of a nine-year-old boy, was found in charred remains of the home on Wednesday, although police said he was yet to be formally identified. Two of her daughters, aged four and seven, died in a Brisbane hospital overnight after suffering critical burns.
A neighbour said a resident of the home repeatedly yelled a name after escaping the fire before the body was found. A body, believed to be her nine-year-old son, was earlier found in the home’s charred remains.
The home remained a crime scene as police investigate the fire after homicide detectives were called in. The death toll rose after neighbours helped six people including three children escape when the family home went up in flames in Wednesday’s early hours.
“Police are continuing to treat the fire as suspicious [and] are not looking for anyone else in connection to this incident at this time,” Queensland police said on Thursday. Floral tributes and a teddy bear have been left outside the gutted Toowoomba home as the local community tries to comprehend the tragedy.
A 36-year-old woman remained in a critical condition at Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital under police guard. “I would like to extend our deepest sympathies for family, friends and all those involved in this tragic event,” Detective Superintendent George Marchesini said on Thursday.
Of the two men who were taken to a Toowoomba hospital, one, aged 34, was in a stable condition with serious injuries. “Toowoomba is a tight-knit community and this tragedy will no doubt have a considerable impact on its residents.”
The other, an 18-year-old, was believed to have a hand injury. The mother remains in a critical condition in hospital and police had not been able to speak with her, Det Supt Marchesini said.
An 11-year-old boy managed to escape the fire and was uninjured. However he hoped officers would be able to talk with her in a bid to understand what happened in the lead-up to the fire.
“This is a tragic event and we are deeply saddened by this incident,” detective inspector Renee Garske said on Wednesday. Medical advice suggested she would survive the fire, Det Supt Marchesini said, but “things can change quite quickly”.
The three other people who escaped the burning home - two men aged 34 and 18 plus an 11-year-old boy - have provided statements to police.
The 34-year-old - the father of some of the children - has been released from hospital along with the 18-year-old, who is one of the mother’s five kids.
The 11-year-old escaped the home unharmed.
Police will investigate if the fire was deliberate and whether accelerant was used.
“We’ve got scientific officers on scene today, as you can appreciate with the crime scene that was confronted, some of those investigations couldn’t occur yesterday,” Det Marchesini said.
“So that’s ongoing through the day today as we speak.”
The family was known to police and had some interactions in the past with officers, Det Supt Marchesini said.
“It certainly was not a premises that police were regularly attending,” he said.
The Toowoomba community was on Thursday still reeling from the incident, which Queensland Premier David Crisafulli called “unfathomable and horrific”.
“We send our thoughts and prayers to the people of Toowoomba and thank the neighbours and first responders who rushed to help,” he said in a statement.
“A full and thorough investigation into this tragedy must take place and we’ll ensure it does.”
Local MP and state treasurer David Janetzki has offered support on the ground to students and staff at the kids’ school, and to neighbours.