Detectives are investigating if three very young children critically injured in a Melbourne house fire had been left home alone when the blaze erupted.
A five-year-old girl, a three-year-old boy and a one-year-old girl remain in the Royal Children’s Hospital in a critical condition after being pulled from the rear of the burning property by firefighters.
It is understood neighbours alerted firefighters to the blaze just before 9.30pm on Sunday, with emergency crews arriving at the Fergus Court home, in the north-western suburb of Sydenham, just six minutes later.
They raised the alarm after reportedly hearing a loud bang before the flames engulfed the home, followed by a series of further explosions, sparking concerns fireworks may have played a role in triggering the blaze.
But on Monday, Victoria Police Arson and Explosives Squad Detective Acting Inspector Adam Henry said they had so far found no evidence of that.
All three of the children were found unconscious from smoke inhalation in an area towards the front of the home, he said.
The fire is believed to have started at the rear of the home, which was gutted by the fire.
‘At the time (fire crews) were unaware that anyone was inside the property and it is our understanding that the family had only moved in a week earlier,’ Inspector Henry said.
Three kids are fighting for their lives after an inferno engulfed their Melbourne home, as police bring in arson and explosives experts
An investigation has now been launched into the circumstances of the blaze at the home in Fergus Court in the northwestern suburb of Sydenham about 9.30pm on Sunday
Forensic police were seen combing through debris outside the home after they joined fire investigators and Victoria Police’s Arson Squad at the scene
‘Firefighters entered and subsequently located three children … all three were conveyed to hospital with life threatening injuries and all remain in a critical condition.’
Inspector Henry said it remained unknown how the fire was started.
‘We believe the fire started inside the property, not from anything outside or exterior,’ he said.
‘I understand that neighbours have heard loud bangs, but there is nothing at this time to indicate that the fire was started by fireworks either being used by the children or by anyone else in the area.’
Police believe the fire may have been building for up to 30 minutes before authorities were alerted.
The detective said there was nothing to indicate anyone from outside had set fire to the home.
‘We are still working to determine who else may have been in the property with the children at the time of the fire or if they were alone,’ he said.
The mother of the children is yet to be formally interviewed by detectives.
‘Police have already spoken briefly to the mother of the three children,,’ Inspector Henry said.
‘However she is understandably quite distressed by the incident and remains at the hospital with her children.’
A dog was carried out of the backyard by a firefighter about 9.30am on Monday. It appeared uninjured and is believed to have fled the fire and returned home later
Among those already spoken to by police include one of the children’s biological fathers.
‘At this stage it is too early to say whether the fire is suspicious or not and it’s important we don’t pre-empt any possible outcomes or make any assumptions,’ he said.
Detectives were seen canvassing the neighbourhood for CCTV on Monday in the hope of getting a better idea of what happened and who was home at the time of the blaze.
‘We’ll speak to the mother in due course. At this time she’s with her children and that’s where she needs to be,’ Inspector Henry said.
Police told reporters during a press conference on Monday afternoon that detectives were not looking for anyone else in relation to the fire.
‘We’ll work tirelessly through the next couple of days to determine the cause of the fire,’ Inspector Henry said.
Detectives are also canvassing the area in search of CCTV they believe might help determine where the children’s guardians were at the time of the blaze
Forensic police were seen combing through debris outside the home after they joined fire investigators and Victoria Police’s Arson Squad at the scene.
Neighbours have claimed a car had been parked under the home’s carport before the fire, but was not there when the inferno took grip of the building.
It is understood police are working to establish if anyone in the home had left around the time the blaze erupted.
The crime scene remains taped off as police continue to probe inside the house for clues.
A dog was carried out of the backyard by a firefighter about 9.30am on Monday.
It appeared uninjured and is believed to have fled the fire and returned home later.
The dog was kept in a fire duty pod, along with a child’s couch, outside the property until council workers took it away.
Police have urged anyone with information to come forward.