The tragic deaths of four children in a house fire in Melbourne's west in the early hours of Sunday morning have sparked an outpouring of grief as investigators piece together how the blaze began.
Neighbours shed tears and firefighters looked visibly shaken as they recounted the events that unfolded on Mantello Drive, Werribee, just after 1am.
By the time emergency services arrived, the intensity of the blaze meant they were unable to reach the four children, who perished inside.
The children who died were two boys aged 10 and three years, and two girls aged six and one.
Their parents, a man and a woman, were taken to hospital, along with their eight-year-old son, all with smoke-related injuries.
CFA commander David Clancy described how the fire had already spread throughout the house by the time firefighters arrived, with the first crews getting there about 1:10am.
"Firefighters had a fairly arduous task to undertake the fire fight and were unable to conduct an internal attack due to the heat of the fire," he said.
Damien Milloy, a lieutenant at the Werribee brigade, was one of 40 firefighters who managed to bring the fire under control and prevent it from spreading to adjacent properties.
He said the size of the fire and the collapsing roof made the home very difficult to access.
"The fire itself we have seen many times before," he said.
"But the complexity involved, then having four children trapped inside the house and, in a way, feeling a little bit helpless that you can't get in there."
According to the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority (ESTA), the call for help to the fire was answered in one minute and 19 seconds.
Bystanders shaken by tragedy
Neighbour Richard Carlesso and his wife had arrived home from a night out not long before the blaze broke out.
They were alerted to the fire by the wail of sirens from emergency vehicles as well as the sound of people yelling and screaming.
Mr Carlesso said it was "incredible to see a house go up that quick".
"You've got minutes. And it would have been less than that for the people to get out," he said.
"How three people got out of it is amazing."
He did not know his neighbours well and described them as "quiet, private people".
"It's very sad that four kids have lost their life and two parents and a sibling have to live with that," he said.
Mr Carlesso recalled occasions where he saw the kids playing and "mucking around" in their front yard.
The man wiped away tears as he spoke to the media on Sunday.
"I'm trying to keep it together," he said. "It's very sad."
Another neighbour, Stephanie Bell, said she was returning home late from a visit to family with her husband when she started to smell smoke.
As they got closer, she could see flames and emergency services vehicles.
"I told my husband, 'There's something going on, and it's bad'," she said.
Ms Bell said later finding out that four children had died in the fire was heartbreaking.
"I'm a mum. I know," she said. "It's really hard."
She said she would pray for the affected family.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMibGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIxLTExLTIyL3RyYWdlZHktd2VycmliZWUtZmlyZS1kZWF0aHMtZm91ci1jaGlsZHJlbi1jb21tdW5pdHktc2hha2VuLzEwMDYzNzk0MNIBKGh0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvYXJ0aWNsZS8xMDA2Mzc5NDA?oc=5
2021-11-21 19:11:08Z
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