Three children fighting for life after being rescued from house fire in Sydenham, Melbourne

The father of a boy seriously injured in a Sydenham house fire said he had previously flagged concerns that “weren’t taken seriously”.

The father of one of the three children trapped in a Sydenham house fire late on Sunday said his son was still fighting for life on Tuesday.

Jayde Petalas, 27, said his son, three-year-old Kalais, was still in a critical condition, having been placed into an induced coma so his lungs could heal and for the pain to subside.

Mr Petalas said the past 24 hours had been “chaotic” and he had barely left the Royal Children’s Hospital since he received the call from police late on Sunday.

“I don’t think I’ve slept in the last two days or eaten anything,” he said.

“I’ve been at the hospital every day.”

Father Jayde Petalas.

He repeated: “This shouldn’t have happened”.

Mr Petalas told the Herald Sun he didn’t really have much family outside of the kids and the whole incident had affected him in a major way.

“It could have been prevented,” he said.

He added he had been concerned about the kids’ safety for a while, having made several reports to the authorities about the living arrangements of the children.

“I’ve made multiple claims ... saying the kids weren’t safe and they didn’t take my claims seriously,” he said.

“I told them the kids had been left home alone more than once before ... now look what’s happened.”

Mr Petalas has reached out for support as his son and two step siblings remain in a critical condition.

He created a GoFundMe page on Tuesday asking for financial support as he hopes to help the kids on their road back to recovery.

“Every little bit of help would mean the world to us,” he wrote.

It is understood Mr Petalas’ estranged partner, Shania Lee, has four children, with the eldest – a seven-year-old boy – not at the house at the time of the fire.

Three children are fighting for life after a house fire in Sydenham. Picture: Supplied

Police are trying to work out if the children, who were pulled unconscious from the Fergus Court property, were home alone after neighbours raised the alarm about 9.30pm.

The five-year-old girl, three-year-old boy and one-year-old girl remained in a critical condition in hospital on Monday afternoon where they were being treated for smoke inhalation.

Mr Petalas said the children would have been “petrified”.

The mother moved into the house a week ago with five-year-old Izabelle, Kalais and their one-year-old sister.

Mr Petelas said he didn’t live at the address and raced to hospital when he received a call from police.

“I hope they didn’t feel anything to be honest,” the father told 9News.

“Obviously they would have, but I just tell myself they didn’t.

“It shouldn’t have happened.”

Five-year-old old Izabelle.

Detective Acting Inspector Adam Henry from Victoria Police’s Arson and Explosives Squad said the blaze started at the back of the house, but the children were discovered inside a different area of the home.

Police are probing if the children were home alone at the time of the blaze. Picture: ABC News

The cause of the fire has not yet been identified.

Inspector Henry said the children’s mother was distraught as she remained by their side in hospital while forensic testing was being carried out at the property.

He said investigators were working to determine the whereabouts of Ms Lee, who is known to police, at the time of the fire.

Three-year-old Kalais.

“She (the mother) is understandably quite stressed by the incident and remains at the hospital with her children,” Inspector Henry said.

Victoria Police earlier said in a statement: “No one else was injured in the fire with investigators working to determine if anyone else was present in the home at the time or just prior to the fire.”

Emergency services at the home after the blaze. Picture: Supplied

Police on Monday spoke with the biological father of one of the children — a man who is also known to police.

Inspector Henry said there was no indication the kids had been playing with fireworks, but it was too early to say whether the blaze was suspicious.

“This is an incredibly tragic incident, and one that certainly would have been very confronting for the first responders,” Inspector Henry said.

Fire crews were also able to recover a pet dog from inside the house on Monday morning.

Neighbour Debbie Zuccala told the Herald Sun she heard a loud explosion at the time of the fire.

“I heard a really big bang — it was like a bomb, I’ve never heard anything like it,” Ms Zuccala said.

A firefighter removes a dog from the house. Picture: Supplied

Neighbours were unaware children were inside the home.

“I was horrified when I heard there were little kids inside,” Ms Zuccala said.

“No one thought there was anyone home. Otherwise, every single one of us would have been trying to break in to get to the kids.”

Another neighbour recalled the impact of the explosion at her own property.

“It shook the whole front of our house,” the neighbour said.

“We could see the back of the house was all lit up in flames.”

The neighbour became teary when she recounted that emergency responders had performed CPR on one of the children.

Thirty firefighters responded to the fire and stopped the blaze from spreading to other properties.

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