A boy who survived an inferno that claimed the lives of his two brothers has been released from hospital as a coroner launches an investigation into their tragic deaths.
Sisters Izabel, 5, and Lyvia, 2, and their three-year-old brother Kalais were rescued unconscious from the back of a property in Sydenham, in Melbourne’s northwest, after neighbours raised the alarm on September 8.
Firefighters rescued the children one by one before all three were taken to the Royal Children’s Hospital. Police are investigating whether they had been left alone at home.
Tragically, Zabel and Lyvia died in hospital last week, while Kalais was placed in an induced coma.
But his father, Jayde Petalas, has revealed that little Kalais was discharged from hospital on Wednesday.
“I’m very happy about it. I’m glad he’s okay,” Petalas said. The age.
This comes after the Victorian Coroner’s Court confirmed there is an active investigation into the children’s deaths.
Mr Petalas, who does not live at the house, previously told Nine News he feared his children had been “petrified” in the blaze.
Little Kalais, 3, was put in an induced coma after a devastating house fire killed his two siblings. The boy was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday.
Father Jayde Petalas (pictured with one of the children) said it had been touching to see the three young children in hospital.
“I hope you didn’t feel anything, to be honest, (but) orObviously they would have, I just tell myself they didn’t,’ the distraught father said.
“It shouldn’t have happened. They are the best kids, so innocent.”
Police are still trying to establish what caused the fire and whether the children were home alone at the time.
The children and their mother Shania Lee He moved into the property a week before the fire.
The children were trapped inside for about half an hour, according to neighbors.
“When I first came out, some of us heard screaming,” recalled one anonymous resident.
Adolf Kolaritsch added: ‘There were just explosions, that was all, and then fire shot into the air.
Another said it was heartbreaking to hear that children were “fighting for their lives.”
Mr Petalas is pictured with two of his children, Izabelle and Kalais, who were rescued unconscious from a house fire in Melbourne.
A loud bang heard before flames engulfed the house, followed by a series of further explosions, raised fears that fireworks may have played a role in sparking the blaze.
However, Acting Detective Inspector Adam Henry of Victoria Police’s arson and explosives squad said they had so far found no evidence of that.
He also stressed that it was too early to say whether the fire was suspicious.
The three children were found unconscious from smoke inhalation in an area toward the front of the home, he said.
“This is an incredibly tragic incident, and one that would surely have been very confronting for first responders,” Inspector Henry said.
The fire is believed to have started at the back of the house, which was gutted by fire.
Neighbors said they heard explosions before and during the fire, which raged for half an hour while the children were inside.
Police have brought in arson and explosives experts to investigate what caused the fire.
Forensic police were seen sifting through debris outside the home after joining fire investigators and the Victoria Police Arson Squad at the scene.
“At the time (firefighters) were unaware that there was anyone inside the property and we understand the family had only moved in a week previously,” Inspector Henry said.
Detective Inspector Henry said police would speak to Ms Lee “in due course” but “at the moment she is with her children and that is where she needs to be”.
“It is important that we do not anticipate any possible outcomes or make any assumptions,” he said.
Forensic police were seen combing through debris outside the home after joining fire investigators and Victoria Police’s arson squad at the scene last week.
Detectives have also searched the area for CCTV footage which they believe could help determine where the children’s guardians were at the time of the fire.
A firefighter pulled a dog from the backyard around 9:30 a.m. Monday. It appeared unharmed and is believed to have fled the fire and returned home later.
Detectives are also searching the area for security cameras that they believe could help determine where the children’s guardians were at the time of the fire.
Police are understood to be working to establish whether anyone in the house was gone at the time the fire broke out.
The crime scene remains cordoned off as police continue to search the interior of the home for clues.
On Monday morning, a firefighter removed a dog from the backyard. It appeared unharmed and is believed to have fled the fire and returned home later.
Police have urged anyone with information to come forward.