Neighbors of the six people who died in a tragic fire have shared new details about the incident – revealing how they fled for their lives as the blaze spread to their home.
A massive fire engulfed several properties on Todman Street on Russell Island, off the coast southeast of Brisbane, at about 6am on Sunday.
A property was completely destroyed, with the fire killing Wayne Godinet, 34, his twin brother Kyza and Koa, aged four, his three-year-old son Nicky, and stepsons, Zack, 11, and Harry, 10.
Neighbors of the family Lucia Teague and Sei Sinclair managed to get out of their own burning home, which was badly damaged.
Police are treating the fire as possibly suspicious and 25 detectives have been assigned to investigate the cause of the deadly blaze.
Speaking on the Today show Tuesday morning, Ms. Teague and Mr. Sinclair both recalled the moment they woke up and had to escape their home.
They were awakened in a panic by Mrs. Teague’s uncle, after which all three tried to put out the “wall of flame” that had reached the balcony of their house, to no avail.
Once they realized their efforts were futile, the family grabbed their pets and whatever belongings they could and escaped from the house.
Mr. Sinclair was the first to escape from the house, remembering the panic he felt as he looked down the hallway at the fire which was at ‘eye level’.
“The adrenaline kicks in, you just go ‘get the family, get the pets and get out as soon as possible,'” he said.
‘The heat, even from the other side of the house, can be felt on your face. It was just awful.’
He remembered the fire that completely engulfed Mr. Godinet and Mrs. Stephenson’s house as it began to spread towards their home.
Ms Teague was later transported to hospital when she fell down the stairs during the chaotic escape.
“I was in denial for most of the first day (after the fire) because the front of the house looks normal,” she said.
“It’s only when you look at the back that you realize the house is all but destroyed.
“I remember the whole time I was in the hospital thinking I just wanted to go home and realizing I couldn’t.”
Neighbors of the six people killed in a tragic fire on Russell Island, Lucia Teague (left) and Sei Sinclair (right), have said they fled for their lives as the blaze spread to their home
Their house was not completely destroyed when neighbors from ‘all over the street’ fought the flames with hoses next to the Russell Island Rural Fire Brigade.
“Fortunately, all our neighbors came to our rescue, one man even jumped over the fence to fight the flames,” Ms Teague said.
“(The neighbour’s help) was so heartwarming in a really heartbreaking situation,” said Mr. Sinclair.
The outside of half of their house was badly damaged by the fire, while the inside was left black and covered in soot.
The family is still trying to make a plan for their future, Ms. Teague says they are taking it “one step at a time and one day at a time.”
“We don’t really know what’s going on, we honestly have no idea,” she said.
Queensland fire and emergency services arrived on the scene some time later, having traveled to the island from the mainland on a barge.
The state’s MP for Redlands, Kim Richards, said the local community “still had to come to terms with the tragedy that has occurred.”
“It doesn’t matter who you talk to, everyone is still struggling with what happened,” she told the Today show.
“You can’t really imagine how (relatives of the deceased) feel today, if the sense of community is anything, then you can only imagine their feelings tenfold, a millionfold.”
The fire broke out in the rental home around 6 a.m. on Sunday morning (photo: the aftermath)
Mr. Godinet, along with his twin sons aged four and his third son aged three, as well as two stepsons Zach aged 11 and Harry aged 10 (all pictured) were killed when he heroically ran in to save them
Mrs Stephenson, five of whose children died in the firecould only watch as the fire continued to engulf the house.
She had escaped the blaze along with a 21-year-old, who is believed to be a relative, and Mr. Godinet who heroically ran back home to try and save the boys.
He got trapped upstairs with twins Kyza and Koa, age four, his three-year-old son Nicky, and stepsons Zack, 11, and Harry, 10, before the second floor collapsed.
a GoFundMe was set up by Lilly Slater, a friend of Mrs. Stephenson’s, to help the mother with expenses, including the six upcoming funerals.
Ms Slater told Daily Mail Australia exclusively: “Samantha just wants the world to know – check your smoke alarms and hold your babies.”
Anyone with information or relevant footage of the incident is urged to come forward as the investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.
Andrew Massingham, Chief Inspector of the Queensland Police Regional Crime Coordinator, revealed on Monday that police are not ruling out foul play.