Hatton Vale family lose everything after family home destroyed in fire

Sifting through the remains of their beloved family home, a Hatton Vale family found a heart-shaped box holding the memory of their lost little brother.

Hatton Vale mum Tanya Hobbs (pictured with children Kaleaha, Liarna, Bec and Riley) woke on Easter Sunday to discover her family home of almost twenty years ravaged by fire. Sifting through the rubble, she found a tarnished heart shaped box containing her youngest son's ashes. Picture: Supplied

In the blink of an eye, Hatton Vale matriarch Tanya Hobbs, her eight children and their partners were faced with the unimaginable.

Their family home, filled with memories, precious photos and treasured belongings, was gone – burned to the ground in a devastating fire at the Easter weekend.

“The whole house – the brick walls, roof and everything – it all went down, absolutely everything,” Nick Millikin, Ms Hobbs’ son-in-law, said.

“They’ve been here for 18, 19 years … fire is not forgiving, it doesn’t give you much back.”

Hatton Vale mum Tanya Hobbs woke on Easter Sunday to discover her family home of almost twenty years ravaged by fire. Picture: Supplied

Neighbours spotted the blaze about 8.30pm on Easter Saturday but, when firefighters arrived 20 minutes later, the house was already engulfed with visible structural collapse.

A Queensland Fire Department spokeswoman said investigators were unable to determine the cause of the fire as the damage was too extensive.

Thankfully, Ms Hobbs and the three children who still reside at the property were away celebrating Easter with their extended family at the time of the fire.

Ms Hobbs and her family in happier times. Back Row: Brayden, Tyler, Kingsley, Samantha, Armani, Kaleaha, Shannon, Liarna, Erin and Bec. Front row: Riley, Nick Millikin, Jordan and Tanya Hobbs.

While none of the family were injured, a few of their beloved family pets did not survive.

“We are a massive animal family, luckily, the ones that have been around for a while were all found,” Mr Millikin said.

“Funnily enough, there’s a huge pond that was right beside the house, the goldfish in it are still swimming – it’s unbelievable.”

Adding to their grief, the ashes of Ms Hobbs’ youngest son Caiden, who died when he was just a toddler, were thought to be lost to the fire.

Arriving at the home on Sunday, the family began to search through the rubble for their brother’s clay footprints and ashes – encased in a teddy bear.

“About 10 years ago we had a death in the family, Tanya’s youngest son passed away from a tragic accident,” Mr Millikin said.

“We knew about where they were and we all just started digging and about an hour later a little heart-shaped box came out.

“We had goosebumps, it was an absolute relief, there were many wet eyes, but you know, good tears.”

Sifting through the rubble of her beloved family home, Ms Hobbs found a tarnished heart shaped box containing her youngest son's ashes. Picture: Supplied

Like many Australians, Ms Hobbs was struggling with cost of living pressures and was forced to let her home insurance lapse in order to stay afloat, leaving the family to rebuild on their own.

“Tanya doesn’t want to leave this place – it’s a family home, it has been for a long time,” Mr Millikin said.

A GoFundMe has been set up for the family as they work to get back on their feet with more than $5000 raised towards their goal in just under two days.

Mr Millikin said the outpouring of community support had been “incredible”, with old friends and new neighbours coming together to help Tanya and her family.

“My best friend organised through his church all these donations and the men’s group he’s a part of all chipped in,” he said.

“Yesterday afternoon, we had this lady, she’s brand new to the Hatton Vale area and she came down with a couple of boxes and she organised dog beds and dog food and stuff like that.

“I think we’re all looking after Tanya right now, it’s time to return the favour.

“She has always been a part of the community, always been the first to help people and give what she can, even if she doesn’t have much; she’s always wanting to help, if someone asks, she’ll help.

“It’s good to see that the community is giving that back to her now.”

Donations to the family’s GoFundMe fundraiser can be made here.

Originally published as Hatton Vale family lose everything after family home destroyed in fire