07-05-2025
Two more children dead after horrific house fire in Toowoomba
Two sisters have died in hospital following a ferocious house fire which also killed a young boy and injured several family members.
Just after midnight on Wednesday a home on Merritt St in Harristown, Toowoomba, became engulfed in flames.
Six people, including four children, managed to escape as the fire took hold however a fifth child did not make it out in time.
Following a search of the property firefighters located a body believed to be that of a nine-year-old boy near the front door of the home.
He has not yet been formally identified.
Five family members were injured in the blaze — including two sisters aged four and seven who were taken to Queensland Children's Hospital.
On Thursday morning police confirmed the girls had died overnight.
A 36-year-old woman who was airlifted to Royal Brisbane Women's Hospital with serious injuries remains in a critical condition under police guard.
A 34-year-old and 18-year-old man were hospitalised but have since been discharged. An 11-year-old boy was uninjured.
Police won't confirm if there was any history of domestic violence within the family or if they'd been called to this house before.
The fire is being treated as suspicious.
'The house remains a crime scene and is currently being forensically examined as part of Operation Xray Paxton with assistance from the Homicide Investigation Unit,' police sad.'Police are continuing to treat the fire as suspicious, are not looking for anyone else in connection to this incident at this time.'
Acting Superintendent Scott Stahlhut said investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing.
'We are in the early stages and working closely with forensics and scientific teams to get a clear picture of what happened,' he said.
'We are deeply saddened by this incident.'
'Our hearts go out to the Toowoomba community and to the family and friends involved.'
Queensland Fire Department station manager Neil Goodman said crews who arrived at the scene first were greeted by a 'wall of flame and heavy smoke'.
The front area of the house was mostly impacted.
'The guys had quite ... a difficult time making access and getting in to conduct a primary search,' Goodman said.
He said he spoke to one of the family members who was 'hysterical' and told crews where the missing child might be.
'We're all fathers, we've all got children, so it's always hard, it's a little bit harder when it's sort of similar to your own situation,' Goodman said.
Neighbour Jennifer Smith described the blaze as 'intense'.
'Little children were burnt and they were taken away in the ambulance,' she told 7NEWS.
She said the family were always friendly and the children often played in the front yard.
Anyone who has any information or relevant dashcam or CCTV vision has been urged to come forward.
