Toowoomba house fire: Mother of three dead children was on authorities’ radar
Detectives are investigating whether the three children who died in a house fire had fuel poured on them while their mother had come to the attention of welfare authorities in other states but not Qld.
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Three young children are dead and their mother is under police guard in hospital after a horror house fire in Toowoomba, which senior investigators say is suspicious and one of the most devastating incidents to ever rock the community.
And it can be revealed the family had come to the attention of welfare authorities in all mainland Australian jurisdictions except Queensland and the ACT.
Mother Ellouisa Brighton Gibson, 36, remained in a critical condition in hospital on Thursday after the fire at her family’s Harristown home.
Ms Gibson, her 34-year-old male partner and four children – two girls aged four and seven and two boys aged 11 and 18 – escaped the house after the fire about 12.30am on Wednesday.
Detectives are investigating whether the children had fuel poured on them before the house was set alight. No charges have been laid.
Neighbours desperately tried to save the children, helping pull them from the burning home, with one putting one of the young girls in a bathtub in another home after seeing her clothes on fire.
A nine-year-old boy died inside the house, and two girls who escaped have since died at the Queensland Children’s Hospital from their horrific injuries.
Family members, including the boys who escaped, were at their bedside of the young girls as their life support was switched off.
The horror fire has rocked the tight knit community of Toowoomba and emergency service personnel who have described the scenes of the fire as one of the worst in their careers.
Detective Superintendent George Marchesini said the woman, who he said was the mother to all of the children, remained under police guard. While she remained critical he said police had been provided information that she was expected to survive.
The man was released from hospital on Wednesday.
Supt Marchesini confirmed police had some interaction with the family previously but would not go into further detail.
“It certainly wasn’t a premises that police were regularly attending,” he said.
“Obviously we want to talk to all those persons that were present, we’ve already undertaken that with some of the people that were at the house and have obviously have been released from hospital.
“Part of our investigation is obviously talking to all people, that will include the 36-year-old woman.”
Supt Marchesini confirmed police had spoken to the man.
He said the 11-year-old and 18-year-old went to the children’s hospital on Wednesday.
“They did attend the hospital last night while life support was turned off for the two young girls,” Supt Marchesini said.
Supt Marchesini declined to comment on a report the mother had approached police concerning her mental health in the lead up to the fire.
He said the man and the 18-year-old helped get the children out of the house and emergency service personnel were confronted with a horrific scene when they arrived.
“It was a scene that no one should have to see,” Supt Marchesini said.
“And while we are first responders and are trained to deal with these sorts of incidents, I want to assure you that we are not immune to feeling the impact that it has had.”
Premier David Crisafulli said a full investigation would take place following the tragedy.
“It’s devastating. Toowoomba is a really tight-knit city, and that community will really be hurting this morning,” Mr Crisafulli said.
“Three children have now lost their lives. A community is reeling.
“We send our thoughts and prayers to the people of Toowoomba and thank neighbours and first responders who rushed to help.
“We will do absolutely everything we can to wrap our arms around the community.”
A neighbour said she had lived next to the family for several years but did not know them well.
“I could see from my bedroom window that the flames were as high as the fence,” she said.
“By the time I got out and across the road, the fire truck had arrived.
“We would cross each other’s paths when we took the bins out,” she said of their interactions
“I didn’t know the children, but they used to call me nanna, they’d call out ‘hi nanna’,” she said.
Neighbour Josh Davey, his partner Tiffany and their children Jacob, 10, and Malia, 1, were trapped for several minutes on their battle axe block.
“We could hear the beeping of the fire alarms … my partner actually woke me up, I went outside and saw the smoke and flames,” Mr Davey said.
Mr Davey said the flames were “overlapping” their driveway, with the young family trapped for “what felt like an eternity”.
“I just concentrated on getting my kids out the back door, trying to work out a way to get out the back if we need to, break some panels or break the fence if necessary.”
“And then when the flames died a little bit I came out the front … it was pretty daunting out the front here with all the family.
“The kids were all sorted by paramedics at that point … there was a lot of emergency services, fireys, police, ambulance … you could hear all the screaming, you could tell (the children) were in a lot of pain.”
Mr Davey said the Merritt Street home was engulfed in flames within “seconds”.
He said the entire neighbourhood were still in their pyjamas.
“Obviously having a very young family, it got daunting just having no exit … it felt at first like we had no way out,” Mr Davey said.
“It felt like we were just going to stand there and watch everything burn down and once that wind picked up, I got worried.
“We were ready … we had the wedge bar out there with the sledge hammer.”
Speaking about the Gibson family, Mr Davey said: “they kept to themselves”.
“A month prior (the children) would always be out (in the yard) playing … I would see the dad and kids walking to school.”
Asked whether he had ever heard disturbances at the property, Mr Davey said: “not out of the ordinary, your typically little bickering and arguing … nothing where I thought ‘oh I should call the police’.”
He said his son Jacob was a similar age to the young boy who tragically died on Wednesday morning.
“It’s very close to home …(my son) has taken it to heart.”
Treasurer and Toowoomba South MP David Janetzki took to social media on Friday morning to thank neighbours and community members who rushed to help in “those first desperate moments”.
“The loss of three young lives in Harristown is devastating, and our thoughts and prayers remain with the families and loved ones affected,” he said.
“I want to acknowledge the immense bravery of our first responders, who were confronted with horrific and heartbreaking scenes as they worked to save lives. We are incredibly grateful for their dedication and courage.
“To the neighbours and members of our community who rushed to help in those first desperate moments — your selflessness and compassion in the face of such horror show the very best of the Toowoomba spirit.”
Muay Thai fighter War Parahi laid flowers at the scene on Friday morning on behalf of his gym Mana Physiques Australia.
“I’m just a dad … I live at the end of the road, I’ve just moved in,” he said.
“I’ve got six children … three adults and three under the age of 10 … I wanted to come down and offer my prayer.
“It really goes to show honestly that don’t ever think that it doesn’t happen close to you … it happens in your street, it happens in everyone’s street.”
Mr Parahi said he knew the 34-year-old man who was also injured in the blaze had been involved in Toowoomba’s Muay Thai community.
Originally published as Toowoomba house fire: Mother of three dead children was on authorities’ radar
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