Fatal house fire in Nelson Bay
Published: 27th August 2008
In the very early hours of the morning firefighters from Nelson Bay and Morpeth responded to a house fire in Austral Street, Nelson Bay. Fire crews arrived within minutes to find a two-level house burning fiercely, a woman suffering smoke inhalation and a child still unaccounted for. The fire was brought under control within 45 minutes where search and rescue tragically found a two-year-old toddler deceased in the house. Further investigations revealed that despite the heroic acts of the grandmother rescuing four other children in the house, the toddler did not survive. Senior fire officers and the NSW Fire Brigades Chaplain attended the fire to offer support to the family as well as to the firefighters and other emergency services personnel. Investigations are continuing by the NSWFB's Fire Investigation and Research Unit and NSW Police to determine the cause and origin of the fire.