Queensland police confirmed Sunday that the five young boys — ages 11, 10, four-year-old twins, and a three-year-old — as well as their 34-year-old father, all died in the blaze.
Emergency services responded to reports of a fire just after 6 a.m. Sunday and found the family’s two-story home fully engulfed.A 28-year-old woman, who is believed to be the children’s mother, was treated for smoke inhalation but was otherwise unharmed.“This poor lady has lost her entire family,” Queensland Police Superintendent Mat Kelly told reporters. “She’s terribly emotionally distressed at the moment but doesn’t have any actual injuries.
At least 30 fire personnel remained at the scene late into Sunday afternoon as officials began investigating the site. Authorities used drones to assess the damage from above. According to Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Assistant Commissioner John Cawcutt, the entire structure was unstable.While authorities have checked the homes on either side of the burned-down house, officials will remain on site for several days to ensure more fires don’t break out.
Cawcutt called the blaze “one of the worst fires we’ve had for a long time” and said the many in the small community would be impacted.The massive fire also damaged two neighboring homes and injured nine people.Two were taken to an area hospital in a stable condition.