Raven Contini, 8, dies in unit block fire at Thorneside, south of Brisbane
Investigations are ongoing into the house fire that claimed the life of an eight-year-old girl. WHAT WE KNOW
QLD News
Don't miss out on the headlines from QLD News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Police investigating the “ferocious” townhouse fire that claimed the life of eight-year-old Raven Contini on Sunday say there are “unexplained” circumstances connected to the blaze.
This is everything we know so far >>>
What is the timeline of events?
Raven perished in the fire as it ripped through the Thorneside property, despite heroic efforts from neighbours using hoses and buckets, with grave fears held for her babysitter, a 31-year-old female, who remains unaccounted for while the property is still too unsafe to access.
As authorities work to make what’s left of the townhouse safe to allow investigators to entry, QPS Detective Inspector Paul Dalton gave more details about the tragedy, detailing how “numerous” triple-0 calls were received about 7am.
“Upon suppression of the fire, (QFD) gained entry to the premises and tragically located the body of a small child,” he said.
“That child has since been removed from the scene late last night.
“A 31-year-old female who police believe was present at the time of fire is yet to be accounted for … we have grave concerns for her welfare.”
An investigation centre has been established at the Bayside Child Protection and Investigation Unit (CPIU), and police have asked for anyone with mobile phone, home security or dashcam footage to come forward.
Det Insp Dalton confirmed homicide detectives were assisting with the investigation.
Neighbour Elliot Harris on Monday described the frantic moment residents at the complex rushed to help before firefighters arrived.
Mr Harris said he was woken by his partner Francisca Espinoza after the fire alarm went off.
Who is Raven Contini?
Raven was a student at Birkdale South State School.
Birkdale South State School principal Amanda Turnbull said Raven was a “precious part” of the school community.
“Staff and students adored her cheerfulness, friendly smiling face and imagination,” Ms Turnbull said.
“Raven’s love for bright ribbons will forever set her apart and remind us each day of the precious gift she was to our school community.
“At this time we respect the privacy of family and friends to grieve.
“Our team of Guidance Officers and Student Care team will be available to support our community this week as they also come to terms with this news.”
Raven’s mother Chloe Rodgers-Falk and stepfather Matthew Rodgers-Falk were understood to be in Ballina, northern NSW, and raced home after receiving the news.
Who is the babysitter, Stephanie “Stephy” Ryan?
A woman in her 30s who was still unaccounted for on Monday morning has since been identified as Stephanie “Stephy” Ryan, who was on a holiday from Darwin.
It’s understood Ms Ryan was on a holiday to visit friends, and was staying at the Bayside Court home after arriving from the Northern Territory on Thursday.
It’s understood she was babysitting Raven while her mother Chloe Rodgers-Falk and stepfather Matthew Rodgers-Falk were in Ballina, northern NSW. The couple raced home after receiving the news.
In a tearful interview, Ms Ryan’s grandmother, Thelma Cowell, described her as a “loveable child”.
“My granddaughter was babysitting,” she said.
“She was a loveable child, annoying, but she was a loveable child.”
Mrs Cowell said her granddaughter was in Brisbane on holiday from Alice Springs.
“She had only been up three days,” she said.
“She’s been up before, come from Alice Springs.
“She worked with her father at Repco.”
What did emergency services say?
QPS Detective Inspector Paul Dalton on Monday said a male “family friend” who also lived at the Bayside Court left the property for a “few minutes” around the time of the fire.
“He left the premises for a few minutes to go to the shop,” he said.
Inspector Dalton was unable to comment on where the child was located but confirmed there were “unexplained” circumstances.
“The parents were spoken to yesterday afternoon, they are obviously devastated, and they have been offered support by police,” he said.
Queensland Fire Department Acting Superintendent Mark Burchard said crews were still working to make the house safe to enter.
“We’re making the house as safe as possible, as you can see from the damage there, we’ve had structural collapse, so we have a technical rescue crew unit and aerial crew working now to stabilise the upper level and remove the rooftop so we can start the investigation as a joint one with QPS,” Act. Superintendent Burchard said.
“We haven’t really got into the structure just because of stability because of the death of the child in the upper level it’s going to be a slow and prodigal task for us to get into the structure.
“It’ll be about midday, sometime today we make the structure safe, but our entry will be under the direction of QPS because it is a crime scene.”
Act. Superintendent Burchard said the cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
“We won’t be able to have any sort of determination or proper investigation until we get inside the structure,” he said.
‘Debacle’: Firestorm over proposed 2032 Qld school calendar change
Should the Queensland school calendar change to suit the 2032 Olympic Games? HAVE YOUR SAY
Vote now: What do you want to ask the leaders?
Steven Miles and David Crisafulli are being put under the pump by Courier Mail subscribers this election. Help decide which question they will be grilled over.