Community rallies to help young Armadale family following house fire and burglary

The community has rallied around a young family whose Armadale home was gutted by fire and burgled just weeks before Christmas. Watch the video.

Victoria Police donated toys to the Taylor family after their Armadale home burnt down and was looted just weeks before Christmas.

The community has rallied around a young family whose Armadale home was gutted by fire and burgled just weeks before Christmas.

Samantha Taylor said her husband Ben and daughters Isabella, 9, and Rosie, 6, were lucky to be alive after the fire broke out in the early hours of December 8 while she was in Hong Kong.

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To add insult to injury, the burnt out house was burgled the next day, with the kids’ Christmas presents and a family heirloom, a watch worth more than $60,000, taken.

Mrs Taylor said the community had come to their aid with offers of clothing and other items, and she said she was heartened by the support they’d received.

It was chilling to think what may have happened if her husband had not woken up in the nick of time to grab the kids and the dog and escape the burning house, she said.

“The fire brigade said there was an electrical fault in my daughter’s bedroom,” Mrs Taylor said.

“The eerie thing is … my daughter said to Ben she didn’t feel comfortable sleeping in her room that night, could she sleep in the spare room and Ben said yes. It makes my blood run cold (to think what may have happened). They made it out two minutes before the whole house went up in flames,” Mrs Taylor said.

“I actually feel worse about the burglary than I do about the fire, I guess because the fire was just something that happened, it was bad luck. But the burglary … it felt like being kicked when you’re already down.”

Police went above and beyond to keep the two young girls distracted during the fire, letting them sit in the police car, play with the sirens and even get breathalysed, she said.

But when police heard about the burglary and stolen Christmas presents they also hand delivered stuffed toys to lift the girls’ spirits.

Rosie Taylor was thrilled to see police members again following a devastating fire and burglary at her family's Armadale home.

“When the police arrived the girls absolutely thew themselves on to the police and cuddled them,” Mrs Taylor said.

Stonnington Senior Sergeant Sherril Handley said Senior Constable Andrew Crozier, who attended the house fire on December 8, came up with the idea to donate toys to the girls.

“He went out of his way to do it … it was lovely to see that kind of proactive policing in the community,” she said.

Detective Senior Constable Lee Rooney said she believed the thieves may have seen media reports of the fire on television and leapt at the opportunity to rob an easy target.

Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Community members have also set up a GoFundeMe page to collect donations to help the family get back on their feet.

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