Mum of twin girls killed in house fire near Byron Bay reveals agonising reality

The mother of four-year-old girls who died in a house fire on a commune near Byron Bay has expressed her devastation at losing her daughters.

The grieving mother of twins who died in a house fire on a commune near Byron Bay has told of the agonising dawning reality she will never make future plans with her daughters, saying: “I wonder at what you were yet to make.”

Akira Garton, who has been left devastated at the deaths of her four-year-old girls, Tarrow and Ophelia, expressed her grief, writing on her Instagram page, “Tarrow... your fruits and vegetables song plays endlessly on repeat in my mind ... your sweetness so real...

“All the seeds we were yet to plant and gardens to sow ... growth touched by your tiny hands and wonder at what you were yet to make ... we had plans.”

Mum Akira Garton lost her twins, Ophelia and Tarrow, four, in a house fire near Byron Bay several weeks ago.

Twins, Ophelia and Tarrow, four, were close and died in a house fire on a commune on November 7.

The girls suffocated in a house fire on a commune Nunkeri Multi Occupancy in Goonangerry, where their father, political activist James Wright was spending the weekend with his daughters and his girlfriend on November 7.

Police and fire investigators have been investigating the possibility a candle left burning on a piano triggered the blaze emitting toxic fumes which suffocated the girls as they slept, around 4am on November 7.

The piano was near the room where the sisters were sleeping.

Mr Wright and his girlfriend were thought to have attended a bonfire on the commune grounds and returned to find smoke wafting from the bedroom.

A distressed woman called emergency services at 4am as a blaze engulfed the home, begging, “Hurry, the babies can’t breathe.”

Akira Garton pictured with her twin girls Ophelia and Tarrow. Picture: Instagram

Akira Garton has said she misses her little Tarrow and expressed her grief, writing on her Instagram, “Tarrow... your fruits and vegetables song plays endlessly on repeat in my mind...”

Paramedics battled to resuscitate the sisters but they died at the scene from smoke inhalation.

The girls’ grandfather Andrew Garton said the family was “shattered” by the “unimaginable” loss of the twins.

Writing on a Gofundmepage, Mr Garton said: “They were my granddaughters Tarrow and Ophelia, I have never asked for much but today I ask that if you can, please help Akira, my daughter through this challenging time.

“There are two families grieving we need your strength and support.

“It’s every mother’s worst nightmare that had suddenly become a reality for our darling Akira on Sunday morning (7th November) when she heard the news that her 4-year-old twin girls had lost their lives in a house fire in Goonengary, NSW, Australia…”

The 20-home commune, situated on 120 acres of farmland on the Byron Bay hinterland, is more than 30 years old, and is named after the Aboriginal word meaning beautiful.