Man, three children killed in Emerald house fire
The man and two infants who died along with a teenager in a devastating house fire in Central Queensland on Thursday have been remembered by “shattered” family and friends.
The man and two infants who died along with a teenager in a devastating house fire in Central Queensland on Thursday have been remembered by “shattered” family and friends.
Mathew Chilly perished in the fire along with a teenager and infants Maddison Symons, 1, and Desmond Symons, five months.
Sally Woulfe posted a tribute to the infants online on Thursday afternoon on GoFundMe, describing their father’s heartache after the tragedy.
“It breaks my heart to be writing this,” she wrote.
“In the early hours of 6 November 2025, my nephew Jake lost his entire world — his two beautiful children, Maddison (1 year, 8 months) and Desmond (5 months) — in a tragic house fire in Emerald.
“In one night, Jake lost everything — his babies, his home, and every belonging he owned. As a young father, he is now facing the unimaginable pain of having to lay both of his children to rest.
“Our family is shattered. Maddison was full of life and laughter, always smiling and curious about the world around her. Little Desmond was a gentle, happy baby whose laughter brought light to everyone who met him. Their bond was pure love — and they were taken far too soon.
“We are reaching out to the community for help to raise $15,000 to cover funeral expenses and to help Jake begin to rebuild his life.
“Every donation, no matter how small, will help.
“If you can’t contribute financially, please share this fundraiser and keep Jake and our family in your prayers.
“From the bottom of our hearts — thank you for your love, your compassion, and your support during this heartbreaking time.”
Family friend Jack Bateman said he had known Mr Chilly for many years and he referred to him as his ‘uncle’.
“There is going to be hurt all over for him,” Mr Bateman said, describing Mr Chilly as a handyman who helped many and who had worked around Queensland, including Brisbane.
“He was a good friend of mine, my uncle, just a good person.
“I have had a shit day after hearing the news. I don’t know what has happened here, it’s an extreme tragedy.
“I am sending all my love to the family.
“I just want to hug them all and make them all feel better.
“I’m hurting but I am more hurting for the family.”
Friends visited the scene to pay tribute to the victims Thursday night with lights and flowers.
Neighbour Bede, who asked for his surname not to be used, said it was very sad news in the tight-knit community.
“I was awake, I heard a big boom, an explosion and someone yelling out, ‘get out of there, get out of there’,” he said.
“It sounded like ... a battery explosion.”
He said he knew Mr Chilly well.
“He was mates with my son. He was a happy-go-lucky bloke. He was happy, playing music,” he said.
The home on Opal St, Emerald, west of Rockhampton was fully engulfed in flames when emergency services arrived around 7am Thursday.
A crime scene has been established as police investigate the cause of the blaze, believed to be in a public housing complex.
Police will investigate whether an e-scooter started the blaze.
Emerald Police Station Officer in Charge Senior Sergeant Peter McFarlane confirmed e-scooters were one of the many lines of enquiries.
“A full investigation is underway, and it’s involving a lot of specialist sections from Rockhampton and also from Brisbane, to determine the exact cause of the fire. But I can’t speculate at this point in time,” he said.
“There’s many lines of inquiries, and I said there’s a full investigation underway with specialist sections to determine the exact cause of the fire,” he said.
Two people managed to escape the fire and were taken to hospital while neighbours tried to extinguish the fire with hoses before emergency services arrived.
Sgnt McFarlane on Thursday said he couldn’t confirm the relationship of the victims but they were known to each other.
He said it was a tragic scene.
“You can imagine, a fire fully engulfed is one thing, but learning four lives inside, lost inside, it’s been quite traumatic on all emergency services, and obviously our priority is the families and extended families of the victims, but also emergency services workers will require some support in coming days,” he said.
“My understanding is the informant who contacted police, heard the fire and contacted emergency services, and there were neighbours using small garden hoses, but as you can imagine, it was well engulfed by time it was had to be extinguished.”
Queensland Fire Department Emerald Inspector Emerald Scott Castree said seven breathing apparatus teams helped suppress the fire.
“The initial reaction was to have a breathing apparatus team make entry through the side of the house, with their primary focus being on carrying out a primary search and rescue,” he said.
“Unfortunately, with the intensity of the fire, the breathing apparatus team was pushed back, and a second breathing apparatus team was deployed to assist with that extinguishment and search and rescue.”
He said it took 25 to 30 minutes to bring the fire under control.
“I heard that neighbours put in an incredible effort using what they had available, including garden hoses,” he said.
“The intensity of that fire was something that they would not be able to stop or make an effective attack on.
“We really do appreciate their support. They took a risk today too to try and help the situation before our fire rescue teams were on scene.”
He said there were 25 firefighters and two senior officers on scene.
“I haven’t seen anything like this in Emerald myself,” he said.
“It certainly is a tragedy. And sometimes these type of incidents are something that many firefighters don’t see in their careers, certainly don’t want to see in their careers.
“But to have two in relatively close proximity to each other is it is challenging, and we hope that’s the end of seeing these sort of tragedies,” he said, referring to a fatal blaze in Gladstone last month.
Photos from the scene on Thursday showed multiple police, fire and ambulance units along with police and fire officers carried out investigations on Thursday.
The unit had black scorch marks on the roof area but the building was still intact.
Flowers lined the fence of the property and soft toys have been placed on the grass by locals paying respect at the site.
A nearby resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said it was a very sad situation, especially so because children were involved.
“I just saw the fire trucks blocking the road. I didn’t smell the fire,” she said.
It was only through social media when she realised people had died.
“It’s just very sad.”
Maria Beach, who manages the nearby Emerald Cabin & Caravan Village on Opal St earlier said the tragedy would impact a lot of people in the tight knit community.
“It is a very close knit community. A lot of people know most people,” she said.
“No one knows who this is at the moment.”
“It’s very sad. I’m sure it will affect a lot of people.”
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli sent his thoughts to the family and tight-knit Emerald community, describing the situation as harrowing.
“I just want to start by saying how incredibly sad it is to see the loss of four lives in that tragic house fire and how much that will rock the local community,” he said.
Mr Crisafulli said Gregory MP Sean Dillon had rushed back to Emerald from Brisbane.
“He’s urgently racing back to his community because he knows better than anyone how much this will rock that community and when you deal with smaller towns there’s no doubt that those connections will be felt, and that loss will be felt so deeply.
“This is an incredible tragedy.”
Mr Dillon said his heart goes out to the community.
“My thoughts are also with the first responders and residents of the broader Emerald community.
“I stand ready to assist in any way that is required.”
Central Highlands Regional Council mayor Janice Moriarty said the council was “deeply saddened by the tragic fire”.
“Council understands that authorities are investigating the cause of the fire, and we offer our full support and co-operation to responding agencies.
“On behalf of the Central Highlands Regional Council and the broader community, our thoughts extend to the family and friends of those impacted.”
The Emerald fire comes less than a month after a Gladstone blaze which killed Jordana Johnson, 36, Jordan Norris, 13, and Chazz Mather, 12, on October 15.
The boys were having a sleepover on the night of the fire.
Contessa Leigh Marie Richardson, 37, has been charged with three counts of murder, and two counts of arson over the fire.
It’s understood Richardson had been staying with Ms Johnson at the time of the fire.
A combined funeral service has been announced for the victims of the fire on November 15.
More to come.
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