Russell Island fatal fire: Woman charged on one count of ‘owners must install smoke alarms’
The grandma of five kids killed in the horror Russell Island house fire claims her daughter pleaded with the landlord to have smoke alarms installed.
Police & Courts
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The grandmother of Russell Island house fire victims has claimed her daughter had pleaded with her landlord to fix the smoke alarms three times before the tragic blaze erupted, killing five children.
In wake of the owner of the property, Donna Rose Beadel, of Tweed Heads, being charged by police for not having smoke alarms installed, the family have spoken out in anger.
Wayne Godinet and his five sons, aged between 11 and 3, all perished after a fire broke out in the Todman St property while the children’s mother Samantha Stephenson escaped.
Mr Godinet became trapped upstairs with the children when he raced back into the house to save them, before the second storey collapsed.
The grandmother of the five boys, Rebecca Stephenson, claimed her daughter had asked her landlord to update the smoke alarms merely a week before the fire.
“The week before it happened, Sam texted the landlady and asked for the smoke alarms to be updated,” Ms Stephenson said.
“Me and my partner moved in with Sam, Wayne and the boys in January and moved out a few weeks before it happened; in those months I know of three times Sam had asked for the smoke alarms to be fixed.
“It was the first thing you noticed when you walked into the house, a smoke alarm hanging from the ceiling and then a marking of one in the kitchen that had been painted over.”
Ms Beadel was served a notice to appear on one count of owners must install smoke alarms.
Ms Beadel has not been charged with any offence in relation to the deaths of Mr Godinet and the children, and there is no suggestion she has engaged in any other wrongdoing.
Police will allege she was not present at the Todman St house on August 6 when the fire occurred.
Landlords are responsible for the installation of smoke alarms in Queensland rental properties.
“Existing smoke alarms manufactured more than 10 years ago, as well as any smoke alarms that do not operate when tested, must be replaced with photoelectric smoke alarms that comply with Australian Standard 3786–2014,” according to QFES.
“Within 30 days before the start of a tenancy in a domestic dwelling, the lessor/landlord must test and clean each smoke alarm in the dwelling.
“During a tenancy in a domestic dwelling, the tenant must test and clean each smoke alarm in the dwelling, at least once every 12 months.”
Police issued the woman with a notice to appear on Tuesday, which will force her to face a magistrate on the offence next month.
The maximum penalty for failing to install a smoke alarm is a fine of around $800.
Ms Stephenson expressed her disbelief in learning the fact the landlord of the property could only receive a maximum $800 fine if she is found guilty of failing to install smoke alarms correctly.
“Considering that Sam paid $460 a week in rent, a fortnight of them living there would have covered this fine,” she said.
Premier Steven Miles on Thursday said Landlords shouldn’t need to be motivated by fines or threats of enforcement to do the right thing and install proper smoke alarms.
Instead, people in charge of properties should “imagine waking up and knowing a decision you made to save a few hundreds bucks led to the death of four children”.
Mr Miles stood by the governments reforms on smoke alarms.
“No matter what the fine is, if you’re a landlord, or you’re a property manager, make sure that you’ve got the right smoke alarms,” he said.
Mr Miles affirmed tenants could seek help from the Residential Tenancies Authority if landlords or property managers did not install proper smoke alarms after repeated requests.
He said QFES was also issuing fines, though data revealed the numbers are small.
“It shouldn’t come down to (enforcement), as I say, if you’re a landlord out there, you own a property with the wrong smoke alarms, think about how you would feel if your decision led to these deaths.”
Ms Stephenson’s stepdaughter and Samantha’s stepsister Connie Campbell was also living at the Todman St address at the time of the fatal fire.
Ms Campbell was able to escape the flames by jumping from the first storey balcony.
“Connie is going good, she goes to therapy and is talking which is a good sign,” Ms Stephenson said.
“She has got herself a job which is good but she is still having these terrible dreams where she has to jump from the balcony over and over again.
“The boys touch a lot of people’s lives.”
Ms Stephenson said her daughter Samantha is “not coping” following the death of her partner Wayne and her five sons.
“She is not well at the moment, and not coping which I guess is to be expected when you have lived through something like this.”
Fire alarm safety advocate Louie Naumovski – who helped campaign to mandate photoelectric smoke alarms in Queensland – hoped the charge against the 61-year-old would be a reminder to landlords about their fire safety responsibilities.
“It’s terrible what happened, it’s not going to bring the children and dad back … but I hope this is a lesson to all landlords out there,” Mr Naumovski said.
“If smoke alarms were in that property there could have been enough warning for some of the kids to get out.”
Mr Naumovski, who is the founder of Logan House Fire Support Network, was behind the push to make photoelectric smoke alarms mandatory in all Queensland homes.
The legislation was passed in 2016, and from 2022 all Queensland houses being sold, leased or renewed had to have the new smoke alarms installed in multiple areas of the house.
From 2027, this mandate will extend to all dwellings.
REIQ CEO Antonia Mercorella said there were no excuses for not having smoke alarms.
“There is no excuse for lessors not meeting the smoke alarm requirements,” Ms Mercorella said.
“If you’re going to be a property investor, it’s your responsibility to comply with this legislation that’s designed to keep tenants and their visitors safe.
“In our view, there has been sufficient time to prepare for the new smoke alarm legislation for residential rental properties, which included a five-year transitional period.”
The maximum penalty for not having a smoke alarm installed in a home is a fine of $774.
Mr Naumovski said this needed to be much higher.
He called for Queensland Fire and Emergency Services to clamp down harder on those doing the wrong thing.
“They’ve got to come down hard, make fines that are going to hurt them in the back pocket.
“They need to prevent a tragedy like this from ever happening again.”
From 1 January 2022, for any domestic dwelling being sold, or where a new tenancy starts or an existing tenancy is renewed, smoke alarms are required to photoelectric.
Smoke alarms must be installed on each storey, in each bedroom and in hallways that connect bedrooms with the rest of the dwelling.
There must be at least one smoke alarm installed in the most likely path of travel to exit the dwelling if there are no hallways or bedrooms.
Ms Beadel’s neighbours at her home expressed shock after learning of the tragic news about the fire.
On Wednesday, Ms Beadel appeared to be at her home in Terranora, but did not answer the door.
The large two-storey property on Jumbuck Cr was littered with old cars stripped off their plates.
The sliding doors to Ms Beadel’s balcony were all wide open, with a woman’s dress hanging out to dry in the doorway.
In the yard, auto parts lay about along with a ramshackle caravan, its door kicked in and broken.
Neighbours confirmed Ms Beadel was the owner and occupant of the northern NSW property, saying they had regular interactions with the woman.
One neighbour, who did not wish to be named, said he “couldn’t believe” what had happened when being told about the fatal fire.
“Jesus Christ. That’s hectic,” he said.
“I see Donna all the time and say g’day and whatever. Five kids, that’s terrible.”
The man said Ms Beadel lived with her sons at the property.
Ms Beadel is expected to appear at the Cleveland Magistrates Court on March 26.
The Courier-Mail understands it is incredibly rare for a charge of this kind to be handled by police.
The offence, which is usually dealt with by way of a fine, is generally issued by Queensland Fire and Emergency Services.
Leading criminal lawyer Bill Potts said it was unusual to see an offence of this nature being brought before a court.
“While it is a ticketable offence, there are some cases where the circumstances are such that it might require submissions that the penalty be higher than the normal amount,” Mr Potts said.
“What the police may well be doing is essentially setting an example by having the court make commentary.”
Mr Potts said it was important to focus on prevention, saying more enforcement could be done to ensure homes are up to code.
“Rather than stretch the law to its limits, what really needs to be done is to have proper methods on preventing things like this from occurring.
“The Residential Tenancies Authority could do similar to what we have with car registration – seek properties to say they are up to date, and if not force the installation.
“The public and land owners ought to be more aware and reminded of the lifesaving nature of fire alarms.
“They’re not just there to be annoying, they are there to prevent people from losing their lives senselessly.”
It’s understood the matter has been handled by police because of the devastation caused in the fire.
Detectives continue to investigate the fire for the purposes of preparing a final report to be submitted to the Coroner in the near future.
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