Lalor Park fire: What allegedly sparked horror inferno which claimed three children’s lives

Initial investigations have revealed what ignited the fire that killed three young children in Sydney’s west as police wait to question their father, when he wakes from an induced coma.

A western Sydney father allegedly began a fatal attack on his young family by lighting a pillow on fire and throwing it at his partner, moments before a second explosion that engulfed their home with flames.

Dean Heasman allegedly threw the flaming linen at the woman about 12.55am on Sunday, one of his first acts in an attack that would claim the lives of three of his kids – a five-month-old baby girl and two boys, aged three and six – on Freeman St in Lalor Park.

The pillow fire is not believed to have been solely responsible for the overall inferno however, with experts now trying to determine what sparked a secondary explosion.

The Daily Telegraph understands investigators are at a loss to explain the motive behind Heasman’s alleged horrifying attack, saying there was no history of mental illness or domestic violence, with he and his partner’s only known interaction with police coming after neighbours called officers to their home for a verbal argument in recent weeks which was quickly resolved.

Western Sydney father Dean Heasman.

Heasman is himself fighting for life, with his condition understood to have worsened on Monday as he remains in an induced coma and under guard in Westmead Hospital.

As family and friends battle to come to terms with their loss, and Homicide Squad detectives lead the investigation into the alleged domestic violence attack, neighbours who rushed to help the trapped children inside the home are being praised as “heroes”.

Jarrod Hawkins could hear kids coughing inside the home, and broke down a door of the home before running through the pitch black smoke towards their noises.

Mr Hawkins — who is himself a father of four — told The Daily Telegraph he just followed his instincts and ran towards the flames, with other locals who watched on in awe saying his efforts undoubtedly stopped the tragedy from claiming more lives.

“I had no idea what I was doing, I just tried my best to get in,” Mr Hawkins said.

“I knew there were kids in there, (because) I heard the kids and I heard the coughing.

“I couldn’t see a thing (once I got) in there, I couldn’t tell where the kids were, I was just going towards the coughing or any noise.

“It’s pretty disturbing to run over what happened again... I know I couldn’t have done anything different.”

Neighbour Jarrod Hawkins has been praised for his quick-thinking efforts to save the children from the fire. Picture: NewsWire / Simon Bullard.

In the hours after the fire his efforts were praised by neighbours as “the reason” four children survived.

Not content with his efforts in the early hours of Sunday morning, Mr Hawkins has created an online fundraising page to support the family to “get back on their feet”.

Police allege Heasman not only tried to barricade the young children inside the home, but went as far as to drag some of them back inside the house as they tried to escape.

While Heasman was heard to say “let me die here” as the fire raged, Mr Hawkins said he had no interaction with him.

“He didn’t say s--t to me,” Mr Hawkins said.

“Those are three very young lives that have been lost. I’ve got four kids of my own.

“I don’t look at it that way (heroic) at all, I just did what I had to do.

“I don’t have social media and I haven’t really been looking for praise. It was just the best thing to do at the time mate, I had to do something.”

Three children were killed in the Lalor Park house fire. Picture: NewsWire / Simon Bullard

It comes as confronting video footage obtained by The Daily Telegraph shows the moment paramedics attempted to save the three children at a burning property.

The vision – which was captured by neighbours, shows multiple ambulance crews kneeling on the front lawn and giving CPR, while fire and rescue officers worked to control smoke erupting from the roof of the home in Lalor Park.

A separate video of the fire, which claimed the lives of three children – a baby girl , and two boys aged six and three.

It shows Dean Heasman – who police will question and are expected to charge with murder if he wakes from an induced coma – lying next to the property.

In the vision, he is being assisted by police while flames engulfed the brick home.

Confronting video footage obtained by The Daily Telegraph shows the moment paramedics attempted to save the three children at the burning property at 33 Freeman St in Lalor Park.

Footage appears to show Dean Heasman on the ground. he is in a coma in hospital under police guard.

Police will allege Heasman, 28, tried to stop neighbours and police from entering the property to save his partner and seven children inside the home.

Four children and his partner managed to escape the blaze.

It comes as residents have recalled the “shocking” scene which unfolded outside their homes on Sunday morning.

“There were two kids who were lying down and they were giving them CPR,” a neighbour who wished not to be named said.

“The smoke was coming out of the roof.”

A vigil outside the home in Lalor Park. Picture: NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

Video footage of the blaze shows ambulance paramedic crews kneeling on the front lawn outside the burning property.

The neighbour also said Heasman would often ask for “money and cigarettes” and would regularly be unclothed.

St Clement’s Anglican Church staff member Paolo Santillan said the children.

“It’s shocking. Devastating,” he said.

“When I saw the house I was like ‘oh crap it’s them.’”

Mr Santillan said the children were “really nice”.

“I hope they recover soon.”