Father, five children dead on Russell Island as massive fire engulfs several homes
The mother of five boys who were killed in a horror fire on Russell Island has told of her devastation, as police say they are keeping an “open mind” regarding the blaze that also killed the boys’ father, leaving the community in shock.
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Police say they are keeping an “open mind” as they investigate the cause of a horror blaze that killed a father and five young boys, leaving a close-knit Moreton Bay island community in shock.
Wayne Godinet and his five sons, Zack, 11, Harry, 10, four-year-old twins Kyza and Koah and three-year-old Nicky, all perished after a fire broke out in the Russell Island home early on Sunday.
The children’s mother, Samantha Stephenson, 28, is understood to have told police her 34-year-old partner Wayne Godinet raced upstairs to rescue their boys.
Mr Godinet became trapped upstairs with the children before the second storey collapsed.
Emergency services raced to the scene of the ferocious blaze on Todman St shortly after 6am, following multiple triple-0 calls that a fire at one house had spread to a second and was threatening a third property.
Firefighters arrived on scene to find a distraught Ms Stephenson out the front.
Some time later, police learnt a second woman also escaped the blaze from the same house – a 21-year-old woman, believed to be Ms Stephenson’s sister.
Neighbours told The Courier-Mail Mr Godinet slept in the downstairs section of the old Queenslander home, while Ms Stephenson and the boys slept upstairs.
Family friend and Russell Island local Peter MacLoughlin said he has spoken with Ms Stephenson, who is staying with a friend on the island, after she was released from hospital.
“Despite her saying they did have problems she said the family were so close and absolutely loved each other,” he said tearfully.
“She is distraught it is so devastating. I had just bought the boy a bike.”
Peter MacLoughlin, Ms Stephenson’s former employer and close family friend described the mother as completely “faultless” and an “amazing woman”.
“I received a call from Sam’s mother’s partner and he didn’t know what to do so I jumped in my car and flew down there,” Mr MacLoughlin said.
“Sam came running out of the house. She was just screaming ‘my children, my children,’ I can never forgot that.
“She told me that she smelled smoke and woke Wayne up and he ran upstairs to get the kids and he just screamed at Sam to stay outside.”
Mr MacLoughlin said he spoke with Sam’s friend who has provided the young mother temporary accommodation.
“She is so distraught, it is so heartbreaking. We have told her to stay away from the TVs for now.”
“For the most part everyone in this community have rallied around her and acted fast to provide food, clothes, water just everything.
“Zach the eldest broke his bike the other day so I fixed up one I had in the garage. He never got the chance to ride it.”
Everyone in the town has described Ms Stephenson’s children as “super smiley,” and “always friendly”.
“Every time I picked Sam up for work the kids would come running out to say hi. Probably also to see if I had any lollies,” Mr MacLoughlin said.
Queensland Police Service Superintendent Mat Kelly said the island’s police arrived at Todman St on Sunday morning to find “a distressed lady out the front … and a house fully alight”.
“She was in the house at the time of the fire … but managed to escape unharmed,” Superintendent Kelly said.
“We’re still speaking with this poor lady who has lost her entire family.
“She’s extremely distressed at this point in time.”
Supt Kelly said police were still investigating the circumstances of the fire.
“These are young boys that could have become men in the future, and a man has lost his life as well,” he said.
Detective Superintendent Andrew Massingham on Monday morning said an investigation centre had been set up in Cleveland with 25 officers. A crime scene has been declared.
“The establishment of the investigation centre is because there are some elements of this incident yesterday that do require closer scrutiny,” he said.
“No determination has been made at this stage as to whether this fire is suspicious or not.
“Its important that I tell you that we are keeping an open mind with respect to this matter.”
He said disaster victim identification experts would travel to Russell Island to help with the recovery of the bodies, and said police were hopeful of removing the bodies of Mr Godinet and his children from the scene today.
“We are keeping an open mind with respect to this matter,” he said.
“There are some aspects of it that require further investigation.
“I can also confirm that two women … were released from hospital last night and they are currently with friends.”
Det Supt Massingham said police had been called to the home before and all aspects of the couple’s involvement with police were being reviewed.
“As to whether the male was supposed to be at the address or not is still subject to investigation,” he said.
He said the two women who escaped the fire had provided an “initial version” to police.
“You can appreciate both were extremely traumatised as a result of what happened,” he said.
“Their medical needs superseded our needs at that time.”
Supt Kelly described Russell Island as a small, “ingrained” community who “all support each other”.
Members of that community woke on Monday morning to confirmation of the devastating news.
Schoolchildren filed through the gates of Russell Island State School, where a makeshift memorial had been set up.
Queensland Government community counsellors and Red Cross volunteers have set up a tent in the island’s memorial park for those requiring support.
Federal member for Redlands Henry Pike was also in attendance, shaking hands with local and mainland volunteers.
QFES Commissioner Greg Leach on Sunday gave more details of how the emergency played out, saying firefighters received multiple calls for help at 6.18am reporting two houses were on fire.
“Subsequent emergency calls indicated that there were several people unaccounted for at one of those houses,” he said.
“Two appliances from the Russell Island Fire Brigade arrived on the scene at 6.35am and they found smoke and flames clearly visible from two houses.
“Within two minutes of that crew being on scene, they reported that a third house was also fully alight.”
He said more crews responded with additional firefighting equipment from the mainland.
“We received information on scene that six people were unaccounted for in the property initially and that one of those houses, I can confirm, is totally destroyed.”
He said fire at the property was extinguished at 8.15am, and firefighters began a search of the collapsed building.
“There’s been quite a significant structural collapse,” he said.
“It could take quite some time, even days, to determine the point of origin of the fire and the cause.
“When you get a structural collapse like that, fire investigators have to piece together what’s left, where it came from in the building, where it was standing, what the floor plan looked like and where people were located when the fire occurred.”
Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll early in the day said her heartfelt condolences went out to the family and friends of those unaccounted for, as well as the Russell Island community.
“An operational briefing has taken place and we know that a father and five boys are unaccounted for,” she said.
“This is devastating news and our heartfelt thoughts go out to everyone.”
Fire and Emergency Services Minister Mark Ryan said the fire was a great tragedy.
“Of course a very sad day for Queenslanders,” he said.
“Brave members of the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, the Queensland Ambulance Service (and) Queensland Police Service were obviously on site very quickly, but now there’s further work to be done around the site – finding victims, supporting the community.
“Our hearts break for those involved in the tragedy.
“It seems a tragic loss of life from early reports.”
At 5pm, police confirmed they had located all six bodies inside the house.
A statement confirmed post mortems and scientific examinations would take place to confirm their identities.
“A 28-year-old woman and a 21-year-old woman were able to escape the property and were transported to hospital where they are in a stable condition,” the statement said.
“Investigations are continuing to determine the cause of the fire.”
Queensland Ambulance Service assistant commissioner David Hartley said nine people had been treated by paramedics on scene.
He said they were treated for smoke inhalation and soft tissue injuries. Paramedics on Russell Island, who responded within five minutes, were understood to be some of the first responders.
“It was a very confronting scene for everyone,” he said.
“I’m not an expert but I’ve seen some of the footage from the scene and it looks absolutely devastating and looks to me like there was very little hope.”
A GoFundMe appeal set up by a friend hoped to raise funds to help Ms Stephenson after the loss of her family and all her possessions.
“On this tragic morning, Samantha lost her five beautiful boys and their father to a house fire,” friend Lilly Salter wrote.
“This is a horrific circumstance and we appreciate any assistance you may be able to give.
“She has lost everything. We also appreciate you giving Samantha some time and space to grieve at this time, as you can imagine.”
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk also offered her condolences and said she would visit Russell Island in coming days.
“It is just an absolute tragedy to see so many young lives lost in this house fire,” she said, speaking on the Gold Coast on Monday, as investigations into the tragedy continue.
“The police are doing their investigations and we need them to be able to take their time to work out all of the details that happened there.”
The Premier said she had spoken to local MP Kim Richards and assured her the state would provide the Russell Island community with all the help it needed as it dealt with the tragedy.
Police Minister Mark Ryan and Communities Minister Leeanne Enoch were on the island on Monday to provide support.
“I know that there’s a lot of people impacted, not just on the island but also the teachers at the (Russell Island) school,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
Earlier, the Premier said wrote that thoughts were with the “whole Russell Island community at this very sad and tragic time”.
A letter to the parents of Russell Island State School students said counselling was available. “As a community, we will rally together and support each other through this challenging period,” the letter stated.
ISLAND MOURNS UNFATHOMABLE TRAGEDY
Devastated Russell Island residents have described hearing cries of “Help, help, help me” as they tried in vain to battle an inferno that claimed the lives of a father and his five children.
Members of the tight-knit community were grief-stricken on Sunday as they learnt six of their own – 34-year-old Wayne Godinet, and sons Zack, 11, Harry, 10, twins aged four and a three-year-old boy – had perished in the blaze after the top level of their Todman St home gave way.
Locals described the young family as inseparable and kind.
The family was well-known to residents, including taxi driver Angela Dowson.
She described the moment Mr Godinet ran back inside the burning house to save his sons, telling their 28-year-old mother, Samantha Stephenson, who had managed to escape, to stay well away from the flames.
“I know he was a hero and he would have done everything in his power to get those kids out, so obviously it was impossible. I would call him superdad’,” Ms Dowson said.
“I have never met a more doting father who just wanted to spend time with his kids.
“He would be absolutely buggered after work and he just wanted to play with them.”
Ms Dowson said the community’s road to recovery from the tragedy would be done “slowly and painfully”.
The fire that engulfed the residence – just after 6am – quickly spread to neighbouring houses.
Robert McKean’s nearby property was spared.
“When I came outside, the fire was the size of a small chair,” he said.
“I ran back into my house to grab a hose and by the time I came out the whole house was up in flames.
“I woke up when my other neighbour’s dog started barking. I couldn’t believe how quickly it went up.”
Another neighbour, whose home escaped any serious damage, said he could hear the cries for help coming from Ms Stephenson and the young children.
“I could just hear them screaming “Help, help, help me’,” he said.
“I couldn’t get my hose to work, so I was fanning the flames away with a pizza box – it’s all I could find.
“The flames were like a giant spire and it was just black everywhere. I could see the fireys pulling giant gas bottles out of the way – it just went up so quick. There were so many explosions.”
Mr Godinet’s family sat in a circle on the side of the road hugging and crying as they were told by emergency services and the QFES chaplain that he and the children had not survived.
A teacher of one of the dead boys stood back from the scene in shock, surrounded by other locals.
“Everyone is just lost, just can’t believe what has happened,” she said.
“Doesn’t matter what she (Ms Stephenson) wants, we’ll be there. She will not go without, we will rally around her.”
As the smouldering property was dampened down, emergency services from both the island and the mainland remained behind.
One elderly woman even made the journey by foot from the other side of Russell Island to thank first responders for their efforts.
Support for shocked neighbours and emergency crews was available, with chaplains and rural support services descending on the scene.
Fruit platters, sausages, bottles of water and flowers were passed around as locals and strangers embraced one other as they came to terms with what had happened.
Russell Island local Gerard Thompson said the work of the rural firefighters was to be applauded.
“Apparently they responded within a few minutes of getting the first call and had it all under control by the time mainland responders were on scene,” Mr Thompson said.
“That’s just amazing to hear.”
Floral tributes continued to pile up at the site throughout the day, with one teary resident placing a teddy bear in memory of the youngest victim, the three-year-old boy.
A GoFundMe page has already been set up calling for donations for Ms Stephenson as she attempts to rebuild her life without her children, partner and home.
Redland City Council said it was working closely with emergency services and support agencies in the wake of the tragedy.
“This is an incredibly heart-wrenching incident that has involved such young children and, understandably, the Russell Island community will need all our support to get through the difficult days ahead,” Mayor Karen Williams said.
“As a city, we will come together to comfort, support and care for anyone impacted by this event.
“Russell Island is a tight-knit community, and we know this will have deep and lasting ramifications.”
Ms Williams has asked people wanting to offer their support to stay away from the site of the fire.
“Sites for tributes will be set up at the Bay Island Memorial Gardens, on High St, Russell Island, and at Sel Outridge Park, Peel St, Redland Bay,” she said.
“Sel Outridge Park will be a safe option on the mainland, as the entrance to Weinam Creek is a busy area and traffic may pose a risk.
“Please also respect the privacy of the island community involved.
“We also again respectfully ask that you do not send donations of goods over to the island via ferry or barge, as the logistics of getting your donations to where they are needed will be difficult.”
Acting Superintendent Peter Miles, of Gold Coast police, said he could not fathom what Samantha Stephenson, the young mum who survived the Russell Island fire which claimed the lives of her partner and five sons, must be feeling.
“I can’t imagine what mum is thinking or feeling,” he said.
“To lose anyone in your life (is bad enough) but to lose (this many) in such tragic circumstances must be completely heartbreaking and our sincere condolences go out to her.”
Supt Miles said police and other emergency services involved in the Russell Island fire investigation may need counselling.
“A lot of the first responders – fireys, ambos, police – they’re all parents and they would be struggling with the magnitude of this and I can’t imagine what this would be like for them as well,” he said.
The August 2011 Logan fire was Queensland’s deadliest house fire.
An inquest could not establish the cause of the blaze but a coroner found there was a “reasonable prospect” that all or some of the victims could have escaped if smoke alarms had been working.
The tragedy led to new laws for photoelectric smoke alarms in bedrooms and hallways of Queensland homes.
FIRE APPEAL
Account name: GIVIT Listed Ltd
BSB: 034 064
Account number: 293 485
Reference: Russell Island House Fires Support Fund
Originally published as Father, five children dead on Russell Island as massive fire engulfs several homes
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