Five day inquest to examine tragic lead-up to an Alice Springs house fire which killed boy, aged three
First responders will relive the desperate final moments trying to save a toddler trapped in a burning Alice Springs home in an upcoming coronial inquest.
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First responders will relive the desperate final moments trying to save a three-year-old boy trapped in a burning Alice Springs home in an upcoming coronial inquest.
On Tuesday, Territory coroner Elisabeth Armitage confirmed she would hold a five-day coronial inquest to examine the circumstances surrounding a June 1, 2023 fatal Alice Springs house fire.
A three-year-old boy, who this masthead has chosen not to name, died at Alice Springs Hospital after being pulled from the blaze on Thorold Court, Larapinta.
At the time it was reported that neighbours noticed reporting smoke rising from the home around 10.30am, with emergency services arriving within seven minutes to find the home engulfed in flames.
Crews reportedly forced their way into the burning building to grab the child, but their efforts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.
The toddler was taken to Alice Springs hospital where he later passed away.
On Tuesday Ms Armitage indicated that the cause of the fire in the three-bedroom home was currently believed to be due to an “electrical” incident.
At the time it was reported the three-bedroom home was managed by public housing, with Territory Families, Housing and Communities saying it was working closely with the family.
“TFHC extends our deepest sympathies to the family, friends and community affected by the death of a child at this property,” a spokesman said in 2023.
The Southern Fire chief, Alice Springs Mayor, Chief Minister and local member also all extended their sympathies to the grieving family following the horrifying house fire.
Only weeks after the tragedy, the Joint Emergency Services Communication Centre Dispatch Sergeant Wolfgang Langeneck described specific trauma in the “powerlessness” of being on the other end of a phone knowing a child was trapped in the blaze.
In an unrelated 2023 inquest just after the incident, Mr Langeneck told the coroner a very experienced senior auxiliary had been left “shattered” after picking up the desperate call.
“She couldn’t help, they had to wait for the fire brigade,” he said.
“And she was shattered after that incident.
“The psychologist attended this very same shift, but it is very distressing sometimes.”
Only two other building fires have been subject to coronial inquests in the past 25 years, including the death of Cynthia Ching in a workplace fire at Kings Creek Station in 2004, and six-month old Blake Harvey after a fire in the backpacker cabins at Kulgera Roadhouse in 2000.
The latest Fire Department annual report said only 27 per cent of buildings in the Territory were deemed compliant at first inspection after occupancy permit
issued, below the 55 per cent target.
The inquest is expected to run from May 12 at Alice Springs Local Court.
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Originally published as Five day inquest to examine tragic lead-up to an Alice Springs house fire which killed boy, aged three