Man kicked in door as everyone 'did their best' at fatal house fire scene

by · Newcastle Herald
Firefighters battled the blaze at Swansea but unfortunately the outcome was tragic. Picture by Peter Lorimer

A builder has spoken of the moment he kicked in a door in a desperate bid to rescue a child from a burning home at Lake Macquarie.

In the aftermath of a horrific fire at Swansea last week, which tragically claimed the life of a five-year-old girl, the community has recognised the efforts of those that tried to help.

Abraham White was doing some work at his friend Mel Ricketts' house at Swansea on Thursday afternoon when they were alerted to smoke coming from a home down the road.

They both started running.

Emergency services swarmed the scene of the fire at Swansea a short time after members of the public called for help. Picture by Peter Lorimer

Ms Ricketts and Mr White told the Newcastle Herald they could see cars had pulled over and people were on the phone to emergency services.

Ms Ricketts said she was familiar with the residents and ran towards a back gate before finding an 87-year-old woman calling out for help.

She said she picked up a statue near the front door and smashed a window.

Mr White was on the phone to the fire brigade when he heard someone was inside.

"I just took the screen door off and kicked the front door in," he said.

In the chaos, Mr White gave his shirt to a teenage boy who severed his Achilles tendon smashing a window.

Phoenix Taylor, Harper Collins-Fry, Fletcher Thomas, Harrison Kruijar, George Grant, Archie Blatchford and Jessie Taylor, alongside their friends not pictured, Finn Rees and Mason Jefferson, also helped at the scene of the Swansea fire. Picture by Peter Lorimer

He said he went into the house twice and searched as much as he could as black smoke became overwhelming and the fire rapidly worsened.

Ms Ricketts said everyone at the scene was doing their best to help.

Groups of boys and other passersby stopped to assist, nearby residents came running and emergency services were quick to swarm the scene.

Ms Ricketts said a neighbour took hold of the second young girl who escaped the blaze uninjured even as the flames leapt across to her own home.

"She didn't flinch, she just wanted to get everybody out safely," Ms Ricketts said.

"There's just been so many people affected by this tragedy."

Tributes were left at the scene where a five-year-old girl tragically died in a house fire at Swansea.

They helped the 87-year-old woman with her burns before she was taken to hospital, where she remained in a stable condition on Tuesday.

Ms Ricketts urged the community to rally around the Swansea family, who had lost so much. A GoFundMe page has been set up to support them.

"It's just terribly, terribly heartbreaking," she said.

"The way the community has come together to help everyone at this horrible time, has been amazing."

At least 40 firefighters, along with multiple NSW Ambulance units and police, were called to the house fire on Northcote Avenue about 1.30pm on August 20.

A crime scene was established and the home was assessed by engineers before officers completed a forensic examination. Investigations continue.