Young child killed in house fire in Dandenong
A YOUNG boy has died when the bedroom he and his baby brother were sleeping in caught fire in Melbourne’s southeast.
Tyler Thomas, 4, was tragically killed in the Dandenong blaze yesterday.
Police praised the boys’ uncle who entered the burning room in an effort to rescue the children.
The uncle pulled one of the boys, aged one, from his cot and took him to safety.
But family members could not get through smoke and flames to save Tyler.
The fire took hold of the top floor of the townhouse in Ann St moments before 7.50am.
About 50 firefighters tried desperately to reach Tyler’s room but he could not be saved.
He had been in an upstairs bedroom when fire engulfed the room.
Police cordoned off the Dandenong home while the case of the fire was investigated.
Detective Sen-Constable Ben Gordon praised the heroic actions of Tyler’s uncle, aged 20, who was credited with saving one of the boys.
“The uncle of the child was in a neighbouring bedroom and he’s been woken by screams of the mother,” he said.
“He’s come out of his bedroom where he’s noticed some smoke and then he’s gone to the bedroom where the fire was.
“He’s been able to rescue the one-year-old from a cot that was just next to the door.
“Unfortunately, due to the extent of the fire and the smoke, he hasn’t been able to get any further into the bedroom to rescue the other child.”
The fire was not suspicious, but its cause was under investigation.
Eight people were inside the property at the time of the fire.
Tyler’s grandmother and her partner were at The Alfred hospital last night after suffering smoke inhalation.
His brother was in a serious but stable condition at the Royal Children’s Hospital.
@AndieHamblin