Hamid, 10, Esin, 6, Nadir, 3 and Elin, 1, died when the family's home in Werribee, in the city's south-west, caught fire just after 1am on Sunday.
Their parents and eight-year-old brother managed to escape as neighbours did all they could to raise the alarm.
Their father told 9News he and their mother survived because the eight-year-old woke them up when their bedroom was already filled with smoke.
He said he tried four times to run into his children's rooms to save them but was halted by the ferocity of the fire.
The parents didn't have time to put on clothes before running next door and screaming for someone to save their children.
Neighbours covered the distraught mother in sheets and ran a bath for the burnt father.
They used hoses to try to douse the flames but it was too late.
Firefighters managed to gain entry to the house by breaking through the garage.
Friends and loved ones of the Werribee family openly wailed in the street as they returned to the ruins of the home.
Flowers, teddy bears and notes reading "beautiful soul, you'll never be forgotten", "fly high little angels" and "deepest love" have been laid outside the house in a makeshift memorial.
"The family that survive … it's devastating," a family friend told 9News, her voice wavering with grief.
"It's just too sad. Too sad."
Marie Pisua told how she looked after the children only days earlier, taking them to the library after school on Friday, which she said was one of their favourite activities.
"They were happy, very happy," she said.
CCTV footage from nearby properties filmed the frantic efforts and raw emotions of neighbours who were also confronted by the blaze.
"Oh my god, there's four kids inside," one woman's voice can be heard saying as smoke billowed across the street.
At one point, the father of the four victims could be heard screaming for his children.
"The dad keeps on shouting, 'my kids, my kids are gone'," one neighbour told 9News.
Fire Brigade Lieutenant Damien Milloy said the fire had already fully engulfed the home when firefighters arrived.
The intensity of the blaze had already collapsed the property's roof.
"We were presented with a house that was well alight," he said.
"Fire had already broken through the roof and was already coming out the front door."
Mr Milloy was one of 40 firefighters who battled the blaze before it was brought under control within an hour. One firefighter was taken to hospital with chest pains.
"The fire itself we've seen many times before, but the complexity involved, then having four children trapped inside the house and in a way feeling a bit helpless you can't get in there," he said.
Neighbours said they often saw the young children playing at the front of the house, with the eldest brother helping keep an eye out for his siblings.
Victoria Police Detective Senior Sergeant Ashley Ryan said "our hearts go out to the family and to the community".
Arson Squad detectives spent the day combing through the scene.
They are still trying to piece together how and where the fire started.
Senior Sergeant Ryan said it was too early to say whether the fire was suspicious or not.
Police have put a call out to anyone who might have witnessed the fire.
"We are calling on anyone who may have information who was driving past at the time, any dashcam footage, anything that may be able to assist us with the investigation," Senior Sergeant Ryan said.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiiAFodHRwczovL3d3dy45bmV3cy5jb20uYXUvbmF0aW9uYWwvZm91ci1jaGlsZHJlbi11bmFjY291bnRlZC1mb3ItYWZ0ZXItbWVsYm91cm5lLWhvdXNlLWZpcmUtd2VycmliZWUvMDZlNjI4MTYtMDA3NC00OTExLWE0NjEtZjc5NDVjN2E1OGM20gFFaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAuOW5ld3MuY29tLmF1L2FydGljbGUvMDZlNjI4MTYtMDA3NC00OTExLWE0NjEtZjc5NDVjN2E1OGM2?oc=5
2021-11-22 07:54:01Z
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