Dad unable to save boy, 2, from blaze

A young father desperately tried to reach a toddler in a house blaze in Bundaberg but was unable to do so because of the intense fire.

A young boy died in a tragic house fire in Bundaberg this morning, despite efforts by his dad and firefighters to save him. Photo: Bundaberg Newsmail.

A young father desperately tried to reach a toddler in a house blaze in Bundaberg but was unable to do so because of the intense fire.

The boys devastated parents and three siblings managed to flee the inferno.

A Queensland Fire and Rescue spokesperson said the fire broke out before 7am in the Jefferis Street home in Bundaberg North.

Fire crews were quickly on the scene and managed to put the blaze out, confining it to only two rooms in the high-set fibro clad home.

Supt John Watson said fire crews had been on another job nearby and managed to get to the home within minutes but the fire was very intense in the upper bedroom where the boy was located.

The boys' parents had immediately flagged to the first crew that the boy was missing.

Firefighers wearing breathing apparatus braved the intense flames to enter the building and go upstairs to fight the fire from within the building. "They did a remarkable job,'' Supt Watson said.

But the boy could not be saved.

Police said it is believed the father was able to help two of the children from the room but could not get to the two-year-old boy.

"The house was engulfed by thick flames and smoke when they left the residence,'' police said.

Both adults, a man and woman aged 26, were taken to Bundaberg Base Hospital to receive treatment for minor cuts, burns and smoke inhalation.

A seven-year-old boy was taken to the same hospital with minor burns.

Two other boys, aged four and eight months, were in the house at the time but are not believed to have been injured.

Fire investigators have been sent to determine the cause of the blaze and whether there was a smoke alarm installed. It is now mandatory that all Queensland homes have smoke alarms.

Originally published as Dad unable to save boy, 2, from blaze