A cash appeal has been launched for the grieving father and child victims of a fatal house fire which killed three kids, as their mother fights for life under police guard.
Six people managed to escape the property when it went up in flames on Merritt Street in Harristown, Toowoomba, about 12.30am on Wednesday.
The body of a nine-year-old boy was later found inside, after his mother Ellouisa Brighton Gibson, 36, her partner Justin Gibson, 34, and five children were rushed to hospital.
On Thursday, police revealed two girls, aged four and seven, had also died from their injuries overnight at Queensland Children’s Hospital.
Police revealed on Thursday that Mr Gibson and the eldest child, 18, had desperately tried to help others escape the flames, braving the flames to try to pluck the youngsters to safety.
Detectives said emergency workers had found the mother out the front of the building as it was engulfed by the inferno.
Now family friend Grace Halaufia has begun a GoFundMe appeal to support Mr Gibson and the surviving children in the wake of the tragedy.
‘I would like to raise money for his children, children’s medical expenses, accommodation, and other support needed in this hard time,’ she posted on the fundraiser page.
‘Justin is a hard working disability support worker who has always put other before himself as well as a dedicated father.
‘This event has been unimaginable and any support would be greatly appreciated.’
So far the page has raised $1090 of its $10,000 goal.
Ms Halaufia said Mr Gibson, who was the father of some of the children involved in the fire, is not yet ready to discuss details of the fatal blaze publicly.
‘Justin wishes for the details to remain somewhat private as this is an extremely tough time for him and his children with unfortunate casualties.’ she wrote.
Detectives have now launched an investigation into the cause of the blaze after police declared it as suspicious.
The home remained a crime scene during the day on Wednesday as police investigated the fire with homicide detectives called in.
The 36-year-old mothers remains in a critical condition at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital under police guard. Police say they are not looking for anyone else.
‘The 18 year old male and the 34 year old did assist with removing or assisting with the children getting from that premises,’ said Detective Superintendent George Marchesini on Thursday.
‘And I believe the 36 year old woman had escaped that house as well, was located towards the front of the premises.
‘We have detectives from the Darling Down district, along with the homicide investigation unit assisting this investigation.
‘We also brought in other specialist teams to assist, and some of that takes part with the forensic and scientific examination at the scene.
‘As part of our investigation, we’ll be looking at any interaction or communication from the family with police prior to this incident.’
The two men were taken to a Toowoomba hospital with Mr Gibson in a stable condition with serious injuries while the teenager is believed to have a hand injury.
They were discharged on Thursday morning. An 11-year-old boy was uninjured, police said.
Det Supt Marchesini said they were still waiting to interview the mother about blaze.
‘We have been unable to speak with the woman at this stage,’ he said.
‘That is something our investigators are working on with the hospital to arrange, but will happen dependent on her condition, how that progresses.
‘We’re continually getting updates from the hospital at this stage – it’s very difficult to ascertain. We know she will have been hospital for an extensive period of time.
‘We’re just waiting on further confirmation of the hospital, and we’ll be in contact with them quite regularly through the days.’
He added: ‘From what we’ve been advised at this point in time, she is in a critical condition, so has survived obviously last night and is expected to survive.
‘But things can change quite quickly.Obviously we’re hoping that she does, and that’s not wanting to just be able to speak with her, but in terms of her surviving this incident.’
Detective Inspector Renee Garske confirmed investigations would include whether domestic violence had played a role in the fire.
Neighbours smashed windows in an attempt to free the children from the home.
Neighbour Will Cuffe ran to help the family as soon as he saw the fire.
‘We were awake and heard some loud shouting, so we went to see what was happening and saw a lot of people out on the street,’ he told The Courier Mail.
‘We heard the smoke alarms, then saw the smoke and flames. After we saw the smoke, it took about three minutes and the house just went up in flames
‘We saw the mother, the father and some of the young kids. The mother was holding the kids and taking them to the ambulance.
‘Two of the young kids were walking, but they were really badly burnt.’ he said. ‘The dad had a cut on his arm.’
A witness who phoned Triple-0 said the home was fully engulfed by the time he ended the call to emergency services.
Queensland Fire and Rescue Service station manager Neil Goodman said fire crews located the nine-year-old’s body near the front door.
‘Once (crews) could bring the fire under control sufficiently, just near the front door, they located one (deceased person),’ Mr Goodman told 7News.
The family’s dog survived the fire and was being cared for by a neighbour.
Mr Goodman said firefighters were greeted with a ‘wall of flame and heavy smoke’ when they arrived at the scene as the fire mostly impacted the front of the home.
‘The guys had quite a difficult time making access and getting in to conduct a primary search,’ Mr Goodman said.
After speaking with a family member who was ‘hysterical’, Mr Goodman advised fire and rescue crews on where they might be able to find the missing child.
‘We’re all fathers, we’ve all got children, so its always hard, it’s a little bit harder when its sort of similar to your own situation,’ Mr Goodman said.
It took about 30 minutes for four fire crews to extinguish the fire.
Anyone with information or relevant vision, including CCTV or dashcam footage, is urged to contact police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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