A young father allegedly started a fire that killed three of his children by setting fire to a pillow and throwing it at his partner, seconds before a second explosion engulfed their home in flames.
Dean Heasman, 28, allegedly barricaded his partner Stacey Gammage, 29, and their children inside their housing commission home in Lalor Park, in Sydney’s west, at about 1am on Sunday and set it alight.
Two children, aged three and six, were given CPR at the scene and were taken to Westmead Hospital in a critical condition, where they died from their injuries.
Firefighters found the body of a 10-month-old girl inside the house.
The children’s mother had to be sedated after detectives told her that three of her children had died in the fire. Her other four children survived the blaze.
Investigators have spent the past two days searching for clues as to what caused the fire.
Heasman allegedly threw a burning pillow at his partner, which was partly responsible for starting the fire, the outlet reported. Daily Telegraph.
Investigators are also looking into whether Heasman allegedly used an accelerant after a second explosion engulfed the home in flames moments after he threw the fully lit pillow at his partner.
Dean Heasman, 28, and Stacey Gammage, 29, are pictured together. They had seven children, three of whom have since passed away.
Shocked neighbors and friends placed flowers and candles outside the home on Monday.
Among the evidence recovered from the house were two water bottles with a brown, petroleum-like liquid inside.
Police say Heasman held the front door closed as emergency services arrived and screamed, “Let me die here” as children screamed for help inside.
It is further alleged that he dragged some of the children inside as they tried to escape.
Heasman is reported to have suffered burns to his skin and throat and the effects of smoke inhalation during the tragedy.
He remains in an induced coma while detectives wait to interview him.
His condition reportedly worsened on Monday, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Pictured: A forensic investigator removed a bottle containing a brown petroleum-like liquid from the scene where three children were burned to death.
Pictured: Forensic experts hold a second bottle of tea-brown liquid, during an investigation into the cause of the fire.
Neighbours told Daily Mail Australia that the three front rooms of the house were quickly engulfed in flames, before electrical wires began sparking and shorted out the house.
Local resident Jarrod Hawkins, whose daughter was friends with one of the surviving children, was hailed as a hero after rushing into the burning house and saving a nine-year-old girl and her three brothers, aged 4, 7 and 11.
The older boy told his rescuers: “Dad tried to kill me.”
Once Mr Hawkins emerged from the burning house with four children, they were placed across the street before another neighbour, Damien Dubois, decided to move them away from the scene.
“I had all four kids and they were cold so we picked them up and took them into the back bedroom of my house,” Dubois told Daily Mail Australia.
‘I was trying to comfort them. The two younger children weren’t saying anything, so I picked them up and got them out of the way of all that trauma.
“They didn’t need to see everything.”
Mr Dubois recalled that just a few weeks ago Heasman was taking some of the children on quad bike rides around the local neighbourhood.
The commission’s home quickly caught fire early Sunday morning.
Pictured: Firefighters were seen removing soot and debris from the property on Sunday.
Neighbors and family friends left wreaths for the three children who died Sunday.
Friends of the family arrived at the scene after news of the tragedy broke on Sunday and many left floral tributes.
Family friend Douglas King added: “I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.
“(Heasman) was always with his children and was good with them: friendly, calm and collected. Last year he told me he was expecting a baby.”
Mr King said he was devastated by the tragedy because he thought Heasman, whom he affectionately called “Deano Reamo” and “Deano the Albino”, was a “respectful and moral person”.
She added: “Deano was a good person. It’s crazy. It’s devastating. I hope the kids fight through this. I hope they survive. I feel bad for Stacey.”
Another said: “I’ve known Deano since we were grasshoppers in preschool and I can’t believe this.”
Mr Hawkins has since set up an online fundraising page to help support family members once they have been discharged from hospital.
Neighbour Jarrod Hawkins (pictured hugging his son) was praised for rushing into the burning house. Police said his actions “saved more lives”.
Neighbour Damien Dubois (pictured) rushed to the scene to bring the surviving children inside, away from the burning house.
During a press conference on Sunday, Blacktown Police Acting Superintendent Jason Pietruszka said Hawkins’ actions at the scene “saved more lives.”
He could not confirm whether Heasman was armed while trying to prevent others from entering the property, but said that will be a line of investigation in the coming days.
Homicide squad Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty said Police were treating the fire as a domestic-related multiple homicide.
He said Ms Gammage and her surviving children are being treated at Westmead Hospital for burns and smoke inhalation.
Heasman is in police custody in an induced coma in the intensive care unit. No charges have been filed against him.
“At this stage it appears the 28-year-old man is responsible for multiple deaths of young lives that have been tragically taken,” Detective Superintendent Doherty said.
‘We allege the 28-year-old man took steps to prevent the young men inside from being rescued.’
