New South Wales has been left with a “deep wound” after the deaths of three young children in a house fire in Sydney’s west on Sunday, according to the premier, Chris Minns.
Minns said the children’s 28-year-old father, who allegedly tried to stop rescuers from saving them, would likely be hit with “the most serious charges on offer”. Two boys, aged two and six, and a five-month-old girl died in the blaze. The man remained in hospital in an induced coma under police guard on Monday morning.
Police are treating the Lalor Park house fire as a domestic-related multiple homicide.
Emergency services were called to the property about 1am Sunday and the home was already “engulfed by flames” by the time first responders arrived, according to NSW police acting Supt Jason Pietruszka.
The six- and two-year-old boys were taken to hospital before they died, and rescuers later found the baby girl dead inside the home. Four other children – aged 11, nine, seven and four – and their mother, 29, were all taken to hospital for treatment.
Minns said it was a “horrifying and senseless act” that had “enraged” and “traumatised” the state.
“These children deserved a loving home with safety and security, and instead, they’re gone,” he said.
“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 that were confronted with a devastating scene.
“This is going to leave a deep wound on the state of NSW.”
On Sunday, Det Supt Danny Doherty described the incident as “incredibly tragic”. He said that the father had been arrested at the scene after allegedly attempting to stop emergency services from rescuing those inside the home.
“We’ve seen three young lives taken away in the most tragic of circumstances and it’s quite unimaginable how the family are coping with this at the moment,” Doherty said on Sunday morning.
“They will get the proper support in relation to this terrible matter.”
According to police, the man was not before court for any other matter and there was no AVO in place.
Doherty said it was still early in the investigation, but he alleged the 28-year-old man “was responsible for multiple deaths of young lives that have been tragically taken away”.
Pietruszka said that police’s efforts to enter the property were allegedly “frustrated” by the man.
Doherty alleged his actions were “intentional of keeping police and other responders and neighbours out of the property while it was on fire … with the intention of keeping the kids inside the premises while the fire was happening”.
Police said a neighbour attempted to assist and was “quite heroic in what they did”, with their actions saving further lives from being lost.
• This story was updated on 9 July 2024 to correct the ages of the children based on updated information from police.
In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123 and the domestic abuse helpline is 0808 2000 247. In the US, the suicide prevention lifeline is 988 and the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org
