Warning: This story contains an image of a deceased person, which may be distressing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers.
The father of two children tragically lost in a house fire in central Queensland has expressed heartfelt tributes to his “little princess” and “best little mate,” as authorities continue to probe the cause of the devastating incident.
Five-month-old Desmond and one-year-old Maddison perished when a fire consumed a duplex on Opal Street in Emerald early yesterday morning.
The blaze also claimed the lives of 36-year-old Mathew Chilly and 15-year-old Cameron Chilly.
Fortunately, the children’s mother and another woman who were present in the house at the time managed to escape and were subsequently taken to the hospital.
The fire erupted shortly before 7 a.m. local time (8 a.m. AEDT).
It took authorities 30 minutes to extinguish the blaze, assisted by desperate neighbours with garden hoses and water bottles.
The children’s father, Jake Symons, is understood to have been away in Toowoomba for medical treatment at the time.
“My Maddy moo, my first love, my everything… I’m sorry I wasn’t there my little princess,” he wrote on social media alongside a photo of him with his daughter.
“I had so many things I wanted to show u… lil man we’ll have that vb and kick the footy around in the next life,” he wrote alongside a photo of his son.
Detective Acting Inspector Brett Richard today said investigators were not treating the fire as suspicious but wanted to provide answers for the family.
“Our forensic and scientific teams are there currently,” he said.
“Any scene that’s been damaged to a certain degree by fire does not leave much clues or evidence for us.
“We will continue until we can provide those answers.”
He said police were pursuing several lines of inquiry including whether an e-scooter battery played a part in the blaze.
Richard said information from the public was crucial to the investigation and asked anyone in the vicinity of Opal Street between 6am and 7am yesterday to come forward, including anyone with CCTV or dashcam video.
The homicide squad is not involved in the investigation, he said.
He said first responders would be offered support.
The family is rallying to help surviving members through an online fundraising page.
The children’s great aunt, Sally Woulfe, yesterday said the tragedy would affect a lot of people in the small community.
“They were loved, they’re an Aboriginal family so lots of aunties, lots of uncles,” Woulfe told 9News.
