Family devastated after four-year-old dies in tragic house fire in WA three days before Christmas

A family has been left devastated after their four-year-old son tragically died in a house fire south of Perth, just three days before Christmas.

The boy’s grandmother has launched a GoFundMe campaign, appealing for urgent support to cover funeral expenses and basic necessities.

“Hi, my name is Teresa and I’m raising funds for my daughter Natasha,” the GoFundMe page reads.

“This tragic house fire has taken her son, and destroyed all their belongings. They are now facing the overwhelming task of rebuilding their lives from scratch.”

The blaze broke out at a Carnoustie Gardens home at Meadow Springs in Mandurah, about 70km from Perth, as temperatures soared to 39.7C.

The little boy was pulled from the burning house after emergency services were called to the scene about 1.50pm on Sunday, but he was unresponsive and could not be saved.

His two siblings were taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation after attempting to rescue the boy and were discharged on Monday morning.

It’s understood the parents had been out shopping for Christmas presents when the blaze erupted.

CCTV footage captured a young girl fleeing the home as the fire began to take hold.

Her teenage brother tried to enter the house before he was forced to return to the street, but the four-year-old remained trapped inside.

Neighbours swarmed the street trying to save him, but were overcome by the heat and smoke.

“It was like hell on earth,” neighbour Loretta Westcott said.

“I’ve never seen anything like that before in my life, and I never want to see it again.”

“There was nothing we could do. We couldn’t get in the house.”

“That smoke was so thick you couldn’t even see the flames through the smoke ... it was so black.”

Andrew Peckover, another neighbour, told The West Australian that he and his wife came out the front to find a wall of black smoke.

“It was super quick. Scary quick.”

“I couldn’t get in through the front door so I smashed through the gate on the side and went out the back,” he said.

“We managed to get to the laundry door out the back but there was already a bit of heat there.

“We yelled out to the kid and hoped for the best but there was no response from inside the house.

“You beat yourself up a bit about what you could have done better but at the end of the day we did what we could. I just feel bad for them so close to Christmas.”

Flowers have been left at the scene by neighbours in Meadow Springs, paying tribute to the young boy.

“Fly high with angels little one. Our hearts are broken,” read a note left with a bouquet of flowers.

The West Australian reported that authorities are investigating if the children were playing with a lighter in a bedroom before the fire broke out.