Cornubia fire: Family’s heartbreaking visit to ruins

A Logan family have made a heart-wrenching return to the home they lost in a massive blaze at the weekend. SEE THE VIDEO

A Logan family only had time to grab a box of photos and their beloved pet dog before their home was destroyed by a ferocious fire at the weekend.

Bevin and Melissa Cunniffe had been watching Netflix in the lounge room of their Cornubia home, with their two young adult sons Jake and Trent in their bedrooms, when a loud knock on the front door alerted the family to the danger.

“We were kicking back, the boys were in their rooms kicking back, and we got a huge bang on the door ‘boom, boom, boom, boom,’ and we thought ‘what is that?’ ” Mr Cunniffe said of the drama about 7pm on Saturday.

Melissa and Bevin Cunniffe survey what remains of their Cornubia home. Picture: Liam Kidston

“Then I opened the door and people who had been driving by had seen the fire in the back, and said ‘you’ve got a fire’.”

Despite his best efforts to fight the blaze with a hose, Mr Cunniffe had to let the house go, while son Jake ran back inside to get their beloved one-year-old Kelpie Roxy.

“It was losing control, and everyone was saying ‘just leave it, get out,” Mr Cunniffe said.

Jake said Roxy was “just sitting next to the lounge, waiting for mum and dad to come get her”.

“I heard yelling and I didn’t know what it was but it seemed panicked,” he said.

“Then I saw two young blokes just running out to the garage so I ran along with them.

Bevin Cunniffe looks into the ruins of his home yesterday. Picture: Liam Kidston

“I looked in there and the fire was just blazing, absolutely roaring.

“It wasn’t just a flame, it was blasting.”

The horror blaze completely tore through the five bedroom home – the heat so ferocious it caused glass windows to explode and completely melted a caravan parked metres away.

Yesterday, the heartbroken family sifted through all that remains of the Bromley St home they built together 15 years ago.

Small victories were celebrated when a police officer emerged from inside the home with Trent’s wallet in-hand, while moments later, Mr Cunniffe consoled his wife of 25 years as she rummaged through charred papers and rubble that lay on the ground of what was once the pair’s bedroom.

A fire gutted the Cunniffes’ Cornubia home on Saturday night. Picture: Liam Kidston

Although visibly upset, Mrs Cunniffe remained positive and grateful and said her family’s spirit was lifted thanks to the kindness of strangers.

“It’s amazing, the community is just amazing,” she said.

“People have already dropped things off for us.

“There’s still good in the world and it shows people are still so kind.

“We’re grateful to the two people who knocked on our front door.”

Mr Cunniffe said without the warning, the fire “could’ve been right upon us by the time we realised, we are very lucky”.

The cause of the blaze remains under investigation, while the family hope to move to pet-friendly insurance-provided accommodation in the coming days.