Infant dies and two others seriously injured in Hobart house fire
A baby girl has died and two other people are seriously injured after a house caught fire in Hobart.
Emergency services rushed to the Benboyd Circle, Rokeby home, in Hobart’s east, to find the house engulfed in flames.
Police found a baby girl, understood to be around one year old, dead inside the home while another young child and a woman were taken to hospital.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“Sadly, an infant was found deceased inside the residence, and another young child and an adult were taken to the Royal Hobart Hospital with serious injuries,” Tasmania Police said in a statement.
“Three other children were also taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
“The house was fully alight when police and Tasmania Fire Service crews arrived.”
The child remains in hospital in a critical condition while the woman is being treated for a laceration to her arm.
Insp Latham said there were up to eight people in the home when the fire broke out.
He said he understood a majority of the people in the house were related.
“There may have been some extended family there as well.”
He said there was no indication of foul play but all avenues were under investigation.
“Any investigation into the death of a child or any person, we take it very seriously, and as a result, we have got sufficient resources to make sure that we understand exactly what’s happened today,” Insp Latham said.
He said it remained too early to identify the cause of the fire but investigators were on the scene piecing together evidence and speaking with occupants of the home.
Neighbours also ran to try to extinguish the flames, police said.
The fire service did everything they could, Inspector Darren Latham told reporters on Sunday.
“Unfortunately, it got to the point where they were unable to put the fire out.”
A woman who saw the flames and called emergency services told the ABC the fire could’ve been worse, with a hero neighbour stepping in to help people out.
“[There were] flames everywhere, out all the windows, lots of smoke,” the woman said.
“All the neighbours were coming to help … there was one man that had [taken] a fire extinguisher over and he smashed windows and got kids out.”
An investigation to determine the cause of the fire is ongoing
Police will prepare a report for the Coroner.
“Our thoughts and condolences are with everyone affected,” Tasmania Police said.
Originally published on 7NEWS
