Family devastated that blaze that killed mum and three kids ruled accidental

The family of a woman who died alongside her three daughters in a house fire in Glen Waverley has lashed the ruling the blaze was an “accident”.

Kaoru Okano and her daughters Enna, Uta and Ako died in a house fire in 2021.

The family of a mother and her three young daughters who perished in an unsolved house fire is devastated by a coroner’s finding that their deaths were accidental.

The bereaved relatives of Kaoru Okano, 38, and her children Enna, 3, Uta, 5 and Ako, 8, have broken their years-long silence over the investigation into their loved ones’ deaths in Glen Waverley in January 2021.

Unpublished coronial documents for the first time reveal Ms Okano sent a text to her estranged husband Hiroyuki Kikuchi – the only person to survive the deadly inferno – to inform him she was moving out and taking their daughters just three days before they all died.

The stay-at-home mother had moved the majority of their belongings to a new temporary home and intended for January 10 – the night of their deaths – to be their last at the Tulloch Grove townhouse, her family say.

Arson and Explosives Squads carried out an extensive probe into the cause of the fire. Picture: Josie Hayden

An extensive investigation into the cause of the fire was conducted by Victoria Police’s Arson and Explosives Squad.

The coronial documents, seen by the Sunday Herald Sun, reveal the cause of the fire was unable to be determined but that there were “three possible sources of ignition that could not be excluded”.

They included that the fire – originating in the garage – was caused by an electrical system failure, carelessly discarded cigarettes or direct ignition by a match or lighter.

The family’s deaths were investigated by Coroner John Olle who concluded they were the result of a “tragic accident, caused by a fire that was not deliberately lit”.

Ms Okano’s parents, Yutaka and Kayoko, and brother Rintaro, based in Japan, have for more than a year been pushing for a review of the findings, saying the evidence does not support a conclusive finding that the deaths were accidental.

“Our family has waited in silence for years, putting our trust in the Australian police,” the family said.

“We must say that what the coroner’s report tell us is too little to receive in return.

“If the cause of the fire has not been determined, we believe it should not be simply concluded that it was an ‘accident’, particularly if two of the three possible explanations reached in the coroner’s report indicate a possibility of negligent, irresponsible or malicious behaviour.

“(The finding) lacks logic and rationality and is unacceptable to us as bereaved family members.”

A family shrine in remembrance of Kaoru Okano, Enna, Uta and Ako.

This week, after the Sunday Herald Sun put questions to the Coroners Court, it emerged that a review of the case had been conducted last July but the family was not informed.

Coroner Olle determined not to reopen the investigation based on his re-examination of evidence which he said did not “support a conclusion that the conduct of any person is connected with the death”.

The family, who now has 90 days to appeal the decision in the Supreme Court, described the ruling as “completely irrational”. “What we really want to know is the logical explanation as to why the coroner simply concluded that the fire was an “unfortunate accident” when he acknowledged that there were multiple possible causes of the fire and that they could not be identified,” they said.

It is not suggested that Mr Kikuchi was responsible for the fire, merely that the family is calling for further investigation into the incident.

Mr Kikuchi attempted to extinguish the flames with a bin full of water before firefighters arrived. He suffered serious burns that required hospital treatment.

Mr Kikuchi told police he was in the garage and had been smoking a cigarette immediately prior to the fire.

Inside the garage were flammable cooking oils, chemicals and rubbish linked to his Balaclava-based Japanese takeaway shop, which shut after the financial devastation brought by Covid-19 lockdowns.

The coroners report revealed Mr Kikuchi had a history of drug and alcohol abuse and depression and attended hospital five days before the fire where he told staff he regularly used methylamphetamine and cannabis.

Victoria Police says a ‘signifcant investigation’ into the house fire was undertaken. Picture: Josie Hayden

His nine-year marriage had deteriorated over the preceding months, resulting in Ms Okano’s decision to end their relationship.

On December 17, 2020, less than a month before the fire, she was granted full-time child support of the three girls.

She texted her estranged husband three days before she died asking if she could take the fridge or washing machine to her new home, coronial documents reveal.

The pair had to that point been living in separate bedrooms; Ms Okana sleeping with her daughters on the floor of a third-storey bedroom and Mr Kikuchi in a second-floor bedroom.

Firefighters found the bodies of Enna, Uta and Ako and their mum inside the third-storey bathroom.

They were trapped behind a closed door with no handle which had to be kicked in.

All four deaths were ruled as inhalation of products of combustion.

“Four people were killed and they have no intention to find the real cause,” the Okano family said.

Victoria Police said an “a significant investigation” into the house fire was undertaken and “after careful consideration and evaluation of the available evidence, it was determined that charges would not be laid in relation to deaths”.

Originally published as Family devastated that blaze that killed mum and three kids ruled accidental