O’Connor family loses everything in Pastoral Ct, Flagstone house fire
An e-scooter battery is believed to be the cause of a fire that ripped through the home of a Logan family of seven, causing them to flee with nothing other than their pet rescue dogs and the clothes on their backs.
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A charging e-scooter battery has been revealed as the cause of an intense fire which ripped through the home of a Logan family-of-seven earlier this week.
The Logan family escaped with nothing but their rescue dogs when the blaze ignited after 11pm on October 30 on Pastoral Ct, Flagstone.
Five Queensland Fire and Emergency Services crews attended and had the fire under control by 1am.
A QFES spokeswoman said the house was fully engulfed and there was extensive damage.
Queensland Ambulance Services were on scene along with police but no one was injured.
Kelly and Jonty O’Connor, along with their dogs and five children, Zach, Malachi, Lochi, Murphy and Maddie – were home when the fire broke out but managed to escape.
Mrs O’Connor’s sister, April Oldbury, said the neighbours saw it before the family woke up.
“They were asleep when the fire broke out,” Ms Oldbury said.
“There was a bang in the garage and the neighbours said they saw it go up in flames.
“It spread so quickly and within seconds the entire house was on fire.”
While the family slept, the fire reached the children’s bedrooms first.
“Maddie was the first to wake up...she ran and woke up her parents and they got all of the kids out,” Ms Oldbury said.
“One of the boys was asleep on the couch in the living room. He slept through it all even when the fire was in the room.
“They eventually woke him up and he was the last one to get out.”
Ms Oldbury also started a GoFundMe page to support her family.
“It’s just horrendous … everything is lost,” Ms Oldbury said.
“This family has devastatingly lost everything walking out with only the clothes on their backs, unfortunately with no insurance to cover them this family is going to need the community and our family and friends to rally around them.
“Please if you can help out in any way shape or form it would be much appreciated.”
Ms Oldbury said her beautiful family was heartbroken.
“I heard the sirens in the middle of the night and it makes me sick in my stomach to think it was our family in trouble,” she said.
“If you know these people like we do you know how positive, happy and generous they are. “They have lost everything and are lucky to have walked away with their lives. The house and all it’s contents have been lost.
“We want to try and help our family rebuild their lives as best we can but any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.”
The family has spent the days since the fire sorting through the house and their destroyed belongings.
“We went through the house and tried to salvage some items but everything is just ruined,” Ms Oldbury said.
“If it wasn’t burnt than it has smoke damage.
“There’s just not a lot they can do. We’re trying to get them clothing, toiletries, and accommodation.
“They’ve been applying for rentals but everything is at least $200 a week more than what they were paying.”
Rachael Eddy, who lives next door, said her neighbours were kind and hard working people.
“They were very lucky to escape un injured but sadly have lost everything,” she said.
“Life is going to be a little displaced and hard over the coming weeks/months but with some help we can try to get them through it.”
Ms Eddy also launched a GoFundMe page to support the family.
“Unfortunately the family didn’t have insurance so any help would be so very appreciated,” she said.
“Thankfully everyone got out safely including their beloved animals.
“They are hard working people and like most, would never ask for help.”
The O’Connor family are staying with family until they found somewhere to go.
The five children are yet to return to school and Mr and Mrs O’Connor have been unable to return to their jobs in construction and vet nursing.
“We want to get them back to a sense of normality as soon as possible...I think they’re still in shock and it hasn’t really sunk in yet,” Ms Oldbury said.
“The GoFundMe has taken off which is amazing. We’re very grateful. It’s incredible how supportive the local community has been.
“Amazingly the family is holding up well. Their spirits are high and they’re staying so positive.
“They’ve lost everything and yet they’re just constantly talking about how grateful they are and all of the kids are in there helping and sorting through the house.
“It’s heartbreaking to see this happen to such a beautiful family.”
The Courier-Mail revealed earlier this year that since 2021, firefighters were attending multiple incidents per week caused by e-scooters.
Statistics from QFES at the time revealed 24 residential structure fires were caused from lithium-ion batteries between July 1, 2022 and January 11, 2023.
QFES investigation unit manager Darren Mallouk previously said fires caused by e-scooters were becoming more common.
“The scooters are designed to take a certain rate of charge while they are being recharged, so if you hook up a charger that charges them at a higher charge rate, it can be catastrophic,” he said.
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