Three children die after house fire in western Sydney treated as domestic violence incident

Three young children died in a house fire in Lalor Park in western Sydney overnight in what is being treated as a domestic violence incident.

Shortly before 1 a.m. the firefighters were called to the scene of the fire.

Police claim a 28-year-old man, now in custody, attempted to prevent police and other emergency services from rescuing the children from the burning house.

“I can confirm that police attempts to enter the building were thwarted by a man inside the building,” said Jason Pietruszka, Deputy Superintendent of the New South Wales Police.

The man arrested is the father of the deceased children. He is still being treated for smoke inhalation in hospital under police guard.

According to police, two boys aged two and four were treated at the scene by paramedics and taken to Westmead Hospital in critical condition, where they died a short time later.

Firefighters and rescue workers extinguished the fire before the third child, believed to be a ten-month-old girl, was found dead at the scene.

Police say the children have not been officially identified.

Four other children, all between the ages of six and eleven, and a 29-year-old woman were hospitalized.

A man is in custody after three young children died in a house fire in Sydney overnight.
Photo: Screenshot / ABC

New South Wales Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Adam Dewberry said firefighters rushed to the burning house to search for the children.

“When our teams arrived, they were faced with quite chaotic scenes, with numerous adults and children who had evacuated themselves,” he said.

“The fire was intense, with flames blazing out of both front windows and reaching the roof line.

“They entered despite the fire, began firefighting and conducted a search under extremely extreme conditions.”

The firefighters who found the two- and four-year-olds went back into the house to search for the baby.

Superintendent Dewberry said temperatures were probably between 600 and 700 degrees.

“They can’t see anything… they’re working in extreme, overheated conditions while they search for these children,” said Superintendent Dewberry.

“The firefighters who found the two children actually went back in to look for the third child, but unfortunately they were unable to find that child. He was found after the smoke cleared.”

He described the scene as “confrontational” for the rescue workers.

“I saw a small child sitting on the lap of a young police officer while being treated by paramedics,” said Superintendent Dewberry.

“This is just a tragedy for everyone. Everyone deals with these things differently. We need to make sure we are there for our firefighters and we are there for each other.”

Shocked locals woke up this morning to see the sight.

Local residents Graham and Elizabeth Cocks said they were devastated by the deaths.

“It’s just terrible,” Cocks said.

“When something like this happens so close to home, in the suburb where we’ve lived for 20 years, it’s just devastating to know that something like this can happen… just horrible.”

– ABC