A mother and young daughter who died in a house fire in Sydney’s south-west shared a post just days ago on social media to ‘never regret a day in your life’.
Veronica Carmady, 46, and her daughter Aurora, six, were killed when their home in Heckenberg, west of Liverpool, caught alight early on Wednesday morning.
The tragedy came three days after Ms Carmady had shared an inspirational post on Facebook.
‘Never regret a day in your life. Good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience,’ her post read.
‘Worst days give you lessons, and best days give you memories.’
Another post two weeks ago had warned: ‘You could die at any moment – so eat that cake.’
Neighbours have told Daily Mail how they heard the harrowing cries of the family trapped inside the public housing home on St Johns Road.
‘She (the little girl) was screaming for help,’ one neighbour said. ‘Help, help, I need help.’
The woman said she was traumatised by what she heard and witnessed.
She added: ‘I can’t get it out of my head, I’ll never forget those frightened screams.’
An older man was helped out of the home with serious burns to most of his body.
‘I saw an old bloke being taken away by ambos – he didn’t look like he was in a good way,’ the neighbour added.
Another neighbour from an adjoining street ran to help the family members trapped inside and used a ladder to smash through a back window before saving a young girl and a two-year-old child.
Eight people – including four children and four adults – who were inside the home when the flames took hold managed to escape.
The survivors were treated at the scene.
A two-year-old girl was rushed to Westmead Children’s Hospital, where she remains in a critical condition.
A 50-year-old man is also fighting for his life at Concord Hospital after suffering potentially fatal burns to his airway.
A 14-year-old girl was taken to Liverpool Hospital.
A boy, aged two, a seven-year-old girl, a man aged 36 and two women aged 37 and 51, were checked at the scene by NSW Ambulance paramedics.
NSW Fire and Rescue Supt Adam Dewberry said the fire had already taken hold of the single-level fibro home by the time emergency services arrived at the scene just minutes after the alarm was raised.
Firefighters attempted to enter through a back window but were forced back when ‘the room went to flashover where thick, oily smoke turned to flames’.
Supt Dewberry said on Wednesday morning it was too soon to say on what had caused the fire, amid speculation an e-bike’s lithium battery may have been involved.
‘There was nothing we could do, the fire had already taken hold with flames venting out the front windows,’ he said.
‘This home is completely gutted. It’s absolutely been destroyed, ruined. Fire ripped through the home (which is now a) shell of itself’.
He said there was no indication that the home had working smoke alarms.
‘It doesn’t matter what starts the fire but we do know working smoke alarms save lives,’ he said.
‘Smoke alarms are that first line of defence for you to protect yourself, your family and your loved ones.’
Officers attached to Liverpool City Police Area Command established a crime scene and commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the fire.
A report will be prepared for the coroner.