Tragic reason 14-year-old boy was in burning house that killed him

The heartbreaking reason a teenage boy was under the bed in a burning Sydney house has been revealed, after his body was found.

Tragic Tahma Teara-Jones, 14, who died in the Macquarie Fields house fire, had snuck out from his grandmother’s house down the road for a secret school holiday sleepover.

News.com.au can reveal the woman who lived in the house with her five children did not known Tahma was there the night of the fire.

The woman and her five children escaped, with one of the kids jumping from a second storey window, but Tahma’s body was later found in an upstairs room after firefighters had battled a fierce blaze which quickly engulfed the timber and brick house.

The burnt out house on Montana Way in Macquarie Fields where a boy, 14, died. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Damian Shaw

Tahma Teara-Jones was having a secret sleepover away from his grandmother’s house when the suspicious fire broke out, tragically claiming his life. Picture: Facebook.

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The fire, which police are investigating as possibly deliberately lit, set off a smoke alarm within the dwelling, but the teenager may have been trapped and unable to escape.

NSW Police described the fire as “suspicious” and say it was preceded by a large brawl in the street which may be connected.

Tahma snuck out for a holiday sleepover at the house. Picture: Facebook.

Friends on the street the day after the fire. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Damian Shaw

A fire officer on the street in Macquarie Fields where a fierce blaze engulfed the house early on Wednesday morning. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Damian Shaw

The boy is believed to have been under a bed on the property after the intense blaze erupted at around 1.35am on Wednesday.

The teen, who is a schoolmate of one of the children who lived in the house, was described as “a respectful, beautiful boy”.

A friend posted a tribute on Facebook for a grieving relative, writing “Love you so much my girl. It ain’t easy but I’ll be by your side. May the lord protect and comfort yous in this difficult time.”

Friends of Tahma Teara-Jones’s family, who lived in both Auckland New Zealand and Sydney, have launched a gofundme.com page to raise money for the boy’s funeral.