The ‘inconsolable’ father of four-year-old twins who died in a house fire at a commune in Byron Bay ‘blames himself’ for the horrific tragedy, a neighbour has revealed.
Little Ophelia and Tarrow suffered smoke inhalation after a fire erupted inside their father’s ‘off-grid’ Goonengerry commune on Sunday morning.
The girls had been visiting their father James Wright – a political activist who was reportedly outside at a bonfire when the blaze began – as part of shared parenting arrangements over the weekend.
Ophelia and Tarrow (pictured with their mother Akira Garton) died from smoke inhalation after a fire at their Byron Bay commune house
Residents who choose to live off-grid at the Nunkeri Multi Occupancy commune consider each other family, and were enjoying a collective bonfire well into the early hours of Sunday morning when tragedy struck
Fire investigators suspect the blaze among 19 properties dotted around the isolated 40 hectare commune in the Byron Bay hinterland in northern NSW was started by a candle placed on top of a piano next to where they were sleeping.
The tragedy was discovered when Mr Wright and his girlfriend checked on the children and found them unresponsive, with smoke billowing from the property, about 4am.
Harrowing calls were made to triple-zero begging for help.
‘Hurry, the babies can’t breathe,’ a woman believed to be the father’s girlfriend told the operator on the end of the line.
Police and paramedics tried desperately to save the young girls when they arrived at the grisly scene but it was too late.
A member of the public weeps while holding a bouquet of flowers outside the home where the twin four-year-old girls died following a house fire
The girls were sleeping together in a bedroom within close proximity to a piano. Sitting on the piano, police believe, was a lit candle which caused the fire
‘They were found to be unresponsive,’ Chief inspector Mick Dempsey told Seven News.
‘CPR was performed by police and ambulance personnel but unfortunately the two children could not be revived and they have since passed away.
‘It’s unbelievably devastating to see… anyone die in these circumstances, but two four-year-old females, it’s just a tragic set of circumstances.’
Mr Right, in 2019, ran as the Ballina candidate for the Keep Sydney Open independent state political party.
‘I’m told Jimmy’s in a bad way, when he was canvassing as a candidate for Keep Sydney Open in the Lower House, the girls were always with him,’ Tyson Kho, CEO for Keep Sydney Open, told The Daily Telegraph.
‘He was the most loving father, he’s really cut up over this.’
A woman from the commune said: ‘He was on the floor on his knees, he was crying “no, no”, he was inconsolable.
‘Our hearts are broken for him. Jimmy loved his girls, he took them everywhere with him.’
‘He’s in a bad state. He blames himself. He’s really shaken up,’
The 20-home commune has existed for 30 years and sits on 40ha of farmland just 30 minutes drive from Byron Bay
Police are investigating whether a candle was left burning inside the home overnight (pictured, investigators at the scene)
The mother of the twin girls is now begging police for answers after their dad reportedly left them inside to attend the bonfire.
A lawyer acting for the girls’ mother, Akira Garton, has asked detectives investigating the tragedy to look into why the girls had been left unattended in the house.
Daily Mail Australia does not suggest any wrongdoing on the part of the girls’ father.
Aerial footage of the remote bush commune shows several dwellings scattered among the trees.
There are no driveways and no fences to separate one home from the next. Cars park haphazardly wherever their drivers can find space.
The community relies on a water tank at the centre of the property and it’s understood they pool resources wherever possible.
‘They’re like a family,’ one local told Daily Mail Australia. ‘They’re all grieving so much right now.’
Neighbours dropped off flowers to the grieving family as the tightknit community mourns
The home is within a ‘multiple occupancy’ community down this street, 30km west of Byron Bay (pictured, police at the scene)
The commune is just 35 minutes’ drive from the hustle and bustle of Byron Bay central – but for locals, it feels a world away.
While Byron Bay has been gentrified and flooded with holidaymakers and celebrities, Goonengerry and similar tiny towns nearby still consider themselves ‘locals only’.
Residents embrace alternate ways of living and, put simply, ‘enjoy a simple life’.
Those living within the commune were all together the moment the twins’ father realised smoke was billowing from the room.
They were still there, shocked and confused, as emergency services arrived and tried to save the girls. A woman was also treated for shock at the scene.
Horrified neighbours arrived at the home later on Sunday to drop bouquets of flowers to the family
Police remain on the scene as they investigate the cause of the blaze on Sunday which left the twin girls dead
Another woman fought back tears on Sunday as she delivered a bouquet of flowers, leaving them in the letter box.
A hand written note was left on one of the bouquets reading: ‘Mourning with you.’
Byron Shire deputy mayor Sarah Ndiaye said locals, especially people living in these types of hinterland communities, were particularly tightknit.
‘The loss will be felt by the entire community,’ she said.
Detectives will work with fire investigators, who remain on the scene, to determine the exact cause of the blaze.
There was little damage to the home itself, but it’s believed the toxic fumes from the smoke caused the twin’s death.
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