Clayfield community rallies behind family of six-year-old boy killed in house fire

Thousands of dollars have been raised in just a matter of hours for the family of a six-year-old boy who tragically died in a Clayfield house fire early on Monday morning.

About $10,000 has been raised in a matter of hours for the Clayfield family who tragically lost their six-year-old son and brother, Max, in a devastating house fire on Monday morning.

The young boy’s parents and four-year-old brother managed to escape the blaze. It is understood Max was due to turn seven in just two weeks.

House Fire

A GoFundMe organised by Tricia Steffen received more than $7000 from 73 donators in three short hours. At the time of publishing, the figure was at $10,000.

“Hoping to raise as much money as possible to assist the family and show that our community is with them at this terrible time,” she wrote.

Among many devastated by the loss of young Max was donator Georgia Kearney.

“Words cannot describe how sad this is and I can only hope that our small contributions can help this family grieve the loss of their darling little boy,” she wrote.

Members of the Clayfield community have come together in support of the family, posting hundreds of comments of condolences and support for the family's loss.

“My sincerest condolences to the family involved! I cannot imagine the pain they must be dealing with,” a Facebook user wrote.

“An absolute tragedy I cannot even fathom having to deal with. I hope the family has a lot of support and help surrounding them,” said another.

The family home, located on Barlow street, was seen engulfed in flames just before 4am this morning, with emergency crews arriving shortly after to battle the rising flames.

Queensland Fire and Emergency were unable to enter the burning house due to the intensity of the flames and unstable structure.

House Fire

A witness, Patrina Bosso, described the awful incident.

“I witnessed when the massive house fire occurred on Barlow street, Clayfield this morning. It went up so quickly and was so loud. Please please have a fire safety plan at home. Sympathies to the family involved,” she wrote in a Facebook post.

Investigations into the cause of the fire are continuing.