What began as a quiet Wednesday morning will forever be carved in the minds of the residents of Raven Street.
Neighbours ran from their homes on the street in Camp Hill, Brisbane shortly before 8.30am as a white car with five people inside – including three children – was engulfed in flames.
Three children under the age of 10 and a man were killed in horrific circumstances, while a woman was left fighting for her life.
A loud bang had alerted homeowners to the horror that was unfolding outside.
A woman was then heard screaming ‘he’s poured petrol on me’, before she tossed herself from the car and on to the grass.
Residents desperately ran to save the others who were trapped inside, while the woman wearing activewear was hosed down on the lawn.
A loud bang had alerted homeowners in the street, which is filled with families and elderly, to the horror that was unfolding
Police, firefighters and paramedics swarmed Raven St, in Camp Hill, in the city’s south-east, after a white car with five people inside burst into flames
What began as a quiet Wednesday morning will forever be carved in the minds of the residents of Raven Street
‘Next minute, about four other explosions. Apparently there’s some young kids in the car,’ the neighbour told The Australian.
‘By that time you couldn’t get near the vehicle, unless you had a proper suit on, you were just no hope.
‘Some young trade blokes down the road, they came out (with) some timber or something to stop the vehicle going further because it actually rolled across the road from here to there.’
Another resident told Daily Mail Australia he saw a first responder fighting back tears after discovering the children inside the car.
”’Babies in the car”, that’s what he said.’
The neighbour said he thought he heard a smoke detector going off about 8.30am, and became increasingly concerned as it kept going.
‘I thought it was maybe a grinder or something… then (after three or four minutes) I saw the smoke coming up and people started to make sounds.
‘It was pretty confronting for everyone involved, extremely confronting for the residents.’
A woman who was lying in bed at the time said she was startled by the sound of an explosion.
‘I was lying in bed and I heard a loud bang, the house sort of vibrated like something hit my roof.’
Another resident said they heard screams coming from the street and ran to help.
Police attend the scene of a car fire which claimed the lives of multiple people, including children in Brisbane
Raven Street, in Brisbane’s south, is in a quiet neighbourhood filled with many families and elderly residents
‘I had people working at my house and we could hear screams and calls for help,’ he told The Courier-Mail.
‘The flames were huge, absolutely insane. We had to stand back because the fire fighters were rushing in.
‘I’m so sad, so very, very sad to hear it’s kids. I just wonder who they are and why they were there. It’s a very emotional time for our neighbourhood.’
The car was covered in an orange sheet while police door-knocked residents on Wednesday
Wendy Antoniou, who lives several houses up, said: ‘I thought something had landed on my roof, it was like BANG – I could feel the vibration.’
‘I came around the side window – well, I nearly bloody died. The fire brigade was everywhere, ambulance was everywhere.
‘All I could see was the smoke. I didn’t know whether it was a house on fire or what. Apparently, this car exploded.
‘First of all I couldn’t even see the flames – then I could see all these flames high in the air!’
A view from the street where three children and a man died on Wednesday
‘It’s such a quiet street’.
‘I’ve asked police to go and give him a welfare check’.
Detective Inspector Mark Thompson said police were still trying to piece together what had happened.
‘How the fire actually occurred has not been ascertained at the moment. For us to call it a murder-suicide or an accident is not appropriate at the moment.’
The white car was reduced to a smoldering wreckage