Tragic update after a fire on Russell Island near Brisbane that killed five children and their father
- Survivor who lost five nephews breaks silence
- Connie Campbell escaped by jumping off the balcony
- Believes the fire is not suspicious
A survivor of the Russell Island fire that killed her five cousins and their father has revealed how she had to jump from a second-floor balcony to escape the flames.
Wayne Godinet, 34, and his twins Kyza and Koa, aged four, three-year-old son Nicky, and stepsons, Zack, 11, and Harry, 10, were found dead at their south-east Queensland home on Sunday morning.
The boys’ mother, Samantha Stephenson, 28, and her sister Connie Campbell, 20, managed to flee to safety.
Ms Campbell has broken her silence over the tragedy and the moment she knew they were all dead as her sister cried out for her babies trapped in the burning house.
She remembered waking up to the panicked screams of “fire” on the other side of the house and running to the bedroom of the three younger boys, where Mr. Godinet grabbed his sons to carry them out.
Connie Campbell (pictured) and her older sister Samantha Stephenson managed to flee the burning house
Wayne Godinet was found with his ‘arms around’ his children (pictured together above) after they all died in the Russell Island house fire
In the 10 seconds she ran back to her bedroom to grab her phone before going to the older boys, the hallway had become inaccessible with pitch-black smoke.
Overwhelmed by the smoke, Mrs. Campbell was forced out onto the porch, where the flames burned her feet.
Mrs. Stephenson was already outside and yelled at her sister to jump off the balcony.
“There’s no other way into the house I can feel the heat from the fire everywhere and so I just throw my phone on the floor and jump off and land on my two feet and then on my hip, Ms Campbell told the Courier Mail.
Screaming and screaming in pain, she managed to stumble to her sister as the pair watched helplessly as the whole house went into debt.
“I was sure everything was gone, but Sam is still standing outside screaming, ‘My babies, my babies’…she still says, ‘They must be here, they must be around…they must got out the back,” Ms Campbell said.
“And I’m not saying anything because I know she’s wrong and I don’t want to tell her she’s wrong.”
Wayne Godinet (pictured with partner Samantha Stephenson and their twin sons as babies) ran up the burning house on Russell Island to try and save his kids
The massive fire (above) destroyed the family’s home and two other properties
A devastated Mrs. Campbell believes she was the last person to see all the victims alive.
“The survivor’s guilt—it should have been me. If I had just tried harder and this and that — I knew that’s stupid or wrong, but it’s just how I feel,” she told the publication.
Mrs Campbell also paid tribute to her nephews, described as ‘very fortunate and much loved’, who would all greet anyone they saw in the street.
She thought the fire had started downstairs and insists there is “not even a possibility” of any suspicious circumstances.
She heard no smoke alarms going off, adding that her sister had expressed her concerns.
Samantha Stephenson managed to escape the burning house with her sister Connie, who jumped from a second floor balcony (pictured, detectives on scene)
Connie knew her nephews and their father had died in the fire after she escaped