A man has been arrested over a house fire that killed three young children, including a baby girl, in Sydney’s west.
Emergency services, including at least 20 firefighters and six fire trucks, rushed to Freeman Street at Lalor Park at 1am on Sunday following reports a home was ablaze.
Two boys, aged two and four, were taken to Westmead Hospital in a critical condition, but they died a short time later.
Fire and Rescue NSW extinguished the fire before the body of a third child, believed to be a 10-month-old girl, was found.
The three children are yet to be formally identified.
Four other children, including a nine-year-old girl and three boys aged eleven, seven, and six were treated at the scene and taken to Westmead Hospital in stable condition.
A 29-year-old woman, has been taken to hospital for smoke inhalation.
Police arrested a 28-year-old man, at the scene as part of the ongoing investigation.
Three young children, including a 10-month-old girl, have died in a house fire (pictured) in Freeman Street, Lalor Park, in Sydney’s west
Paramedics treated four other children at the scene before rushing them to Westmead Hospital in stable condition
He was treated for smoke inhalation and taken to hospital under police guard.
It is understood the home was a housing commission property, where the woman and man lived along with the seven children.
A neighbour, whose daughter was friends with the nine-year-old girl named Maddie, said one of the boys had autism before describing all the children as ‘unreal’.
‘I heard some stuff outside at 1am but by the time I came outside emergency was here – I couldn’t do anything’ the neighbour told Daily Mail Australia.
‘My daughter was friends with the little girl.’
He added the children’s parents appeared happy.
The home was declared a crime scene, with police and forensic investigators at the property on Sunday morning.
The blaze tore through the brick home, completely destroying the property from the inside out.
The front section of the house was blackened, with the bricks outside stained from where the flames blasted through the windows.
Outside window frames were scorched by the blaze, with the flames even licking the gutters on the roof.
The home’s front door appeared burnt off its hinges while the wallpaper inside the front rooms was flaking off.
Power cables leading to the house also appeared to have been burnt off by the fire.
Police arrested a 29-year-old man at the scene as part of the ongoing investigation
NSW Fire and Rescue Superintendent Adam Dewberry described the scene as ‘absolute chaos’.
‘Going to a house fire, you’re always expecting the worst, hoping it won’t be but this was confronting, absolute chaos’ Mr Dewberry said.
‘They got in, commenced their fire fighting operations, got in and did that search, got those two children out, handed them over to paramedics who then continued with that emergency medical treatment.’
Police have launched in investigation into the exact circumstances that caused the fire.
The cause of the fire is not yet known and a report will be prepared for the coroner.
Anyone with information about the blaze is being urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1300 333 000.
