Sad update on ‘heartbreaking’ Sydney house fire
A man will face court charged with murdering three of his children following a Sydney house fire. Photo: AAP
Police say the baby girl who was one of three children killed in a horrifying house blaze in Sydney’s west was just five months old – not 10 months, as initially reported.
In a sad update on Tuesday, NSW Police confirmed the two boys who died with their infant sister in Sunday morning’s fire at Lalor Park were aged just two and six.
Initial reports had put their ages at three and six.
“They are yet to be formally identified and post-mortem examinations are being conducted to determine the cause of their deaths,” police said.
The siblings’ brothers – aged four, seven and 11 – and their nine-year-old sister remain in stable conditions in hospital.
Their 29-year-old mother is also in a stable condition in hospital.
The children’s father, named as 28-year-old Dean Heasman, is in a critical condition in Sydney’s Westmead Hospital, under police guard.
Tuesday’s update came as a neighbour who was woken by flames engulfing the house next door told how he repeatedly entered the burning building to rescue children inside.
Jarrod Hawkins retrieved three children from the inferno after going back into the smoke and flame-filled house three times, the ABC reports.
According to reports in The Daily Telegraph on Tuesday, it is alleged that Heasman lit a pillow on fire and threw it at his partner about 1am on Sunday, moments before an explosion engulfed the house.
Investigators are trying to determine what sparked that second explosion.
Police have said Heasman is believed to be responsible for the deadly attack on his family and attempting to block rescuers.
Hawkins said he was woken by the sound of crackling flames.
“I could see the neighbours’ house was on fire,” he told the ABC.
“It sounds silly but I didn’t even think about it, I just sprinted over and was smashing down the front door so I could get in.”
As he crawled on his hands and knees, struggling to see past the choking smoke, Hawkins heard children coughing and yelling.
He found one child on the floor and took him outside, returning to the house twice to rescue two more children.
When rescuers arrived, Hawkins also tried to assist the rest of the family from the back of the house, the ABC reports.
Hawkins said Heasman allegedly tried to stop the rescuers.
“He was definitely intervening. He was not helping the situation,” he said.
“It is heartbreaking that someone would do that to their kid.”
Source: Chris Minns
NSW Premier Chris Minns suggested Heasman would be hit with “the most serious charges on offer” after three children were killed.
He said the “horrifying and senseless act” had outraged the entire state.
“These children deserved a loving home with safety and security, and instead, they’re gone,” he said on Monday.
“I can imagine the people of NSW feel enormous sorrow and deep sympathy with the surviving family members this morning, as we also show enormous care and gratitude to our emergency service workers … this is going to leave a deep wound on the state of NSW.”
Investigations will continue for some time, with dogs brought in to identify potential accelerants as police rake through the scene.
“However, at this stage, it does appear that the 28-year-old man is responsible for multiple deaths of young lives that have been tragically taken away,” Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty said on Sunday.
Detectives are treating the incident as a domestic-related multiple homicide. Heasman is yet to be charged.
Acting Superintendent Jason Pietruszka said the fire and the death of three children would have a long-lasting impact.
“There’s no other word for it … It’s completely and utterly devastating,” he said.
1800 RESPECT 1800 737 732
Lifeline 131 114
-with AAP