A young mother whose partner and five sons died in a house fire near Brisbane has urged every parent to ‘check your smoke alarms and hold your babies’.
Samantha Stephenson, 28, watched as her family’s rental home on Queensland‘s Russell Island burned to the ground just after 6am on Sunday – with her partner Wayne Godinet, 34, and her children still inside.
She had managed to escape the flames with a 21-year-old relative, believed to be her sister, but – when she tried to run back inside to get her sons – Mr Godinet stopped her, and bolted back into the burning building himself.
He became trapped upstairs with twins Kyza and Koa, aged four, his three-year-old son Nicky, and stepsons, Zack, 11 and Harry, 10, before the second storey collapsed.
Police confirmed on Sunday afternoon that six bodies had been found in the wreckage.
That same afternoon, Ms Stephenson’s close friend Lilly Salter set up a Go Fund Me to help the mum out with expenses, including the six funerals she will have to fund.
Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail Australia, Ms Slater said: ‘Samantha just wants the world to know – check your smoke alarms and hold your babies.’
Samantha Stephenson is pictured with her partner Wayne Godinet and their sons, Koa and Kyza
Emma-Lee Headrick, the children’s aunt, said she had been awake all night mourning the loss of ‘Waynie boy’ and her six ‘beautiful’ nephews in a Facebook post on Monday (pictured)
Ms Stephenson (pictured) was found outside the home – neighbours said she tried to run back in, but Mr Godinet stopped her
Neighbours said Mr Godinet was sleeping in a downstairs section of the home while Ms Stephenson slept upstairs with the kids when they blaze started.
Ms Stephenson was released from hospital on Monday morning and is cooperating with investigators, as they try to determine the cause of the fire.
Peter MacLoughlin, a close family friend, said he heard about the fire on Sunday morning and immediately jumped in the car.
‘Sam came running out of the house. She was just screaming ‘my children, my children,’ I can never forgot that,’ he told The Courier-Mail.
Police are not ruling out that the fire may have been suspicious.
Earlier on Monday, the children’s aunt Emma-Lee Headrick took to social media to say she had been awake all night mourning the loss of ‘Waynie boy’ and her ‘beautiful’ nephews.
‘I stayed awake, mourning the loss of 6 beautiful souls,’ she wrote on Facebook alongside a photo of the father and his sons floating on pink clouds.
‘We have suffered a great loss. I find comfort knowing you rest peacefully in the arms of the Lord. With Grumpy and Nicky.
‘To my whanau in Queensland, I feel your pain and aroha. I’ll be there soon.’
It comes as Detective Superintendent Andrew Massingham revealed there were several elements of the house fire that required ‘further scrutiny’ by police.
He said police have made no determination on whether the blaze was suspicious or not and that investigators were keeping an open mind about its cause.
‘In terms of best investigative processes, the elements that need further investigation or clarification must remain confidential at this stage,’ he said.
Mr Godinet and Ms Stephenson had been sleeping on the ground floor while the children and female relative, 21, had been upstairs when the fire broke out.
Father Wayne Godinet, 34, and his five sons (pictured) perished after they were trapped in a deadly fire on Queensland’s Russell Island
The blaze was so intense firefighters were only able to pick through the remains of the house in the late afternoon after battling it from 6:18am
The rental property on Todman Street, Russell Island, was largely destroyed in the blaze (pictured)
The woman was forced to jump from a second-storey window to escape the flames.
Officers will retrieve the bodies from the charred remains on Monday to allow formal identification processes to begin.
Superintendent Massingham said the ‘male victim’ was known to police and that officers had been called to the residence on several occasions before the blaze.
The superintendent was asked if the male victim was allowed to be at the house.
‘In terms of that aspect of it, were still investigating that but I can confirm that police happen to the residents in the past but the nature and frequency of our attendance there is subject to internal review,’ he said.
Meanwhile, a letter from the acting principal of Russell Island State School Leanne McMahon was sent to parents and caregivers on Sunday.
The two eldest sons, Zack and Harry, were students at the local school.
‘Many of you will be aware of a tragic house fire this morning in our community. It has been reported that some residents, including young people, remain unaccounted for. We extend our sincere sympathies to the affected families and their loved ones at this difficult time,’ the letter read.
Ms McMahon said she understood children would be distressed by the news and that support and counselling would be provided by the school.
‘As a community, we will rally together and support each other through this challenging period,’ she wrote.
Pictured: The remains of the home, after a fire tore though on Sunday morning
Mr Godinet (pictured with his two children) ran inside the house to try and save the five kids
Mr Godinet (pictured with his son) became trapped upstairs with the boys moments before the second storey of the Russell Island home collapsed
Officers were stationed outside the home overnight on Sunday to guard the six bodies police believe remain inside the charred wreckage.
‘Today we’re hopeful of removing the bodies of the six people who tragically perished in this fire yesterday,’ Superintendent Massingham said.
‘A crime scene has been declared at Todman Street and fire investigators and scene of crime staff are there. Our disaster victim identification squad has been called in to assist in that process.’
In total, nine people were treated at the scene after the fire spread to two other properties on Todman Street, about 60km southeast of Brisbane.
Police confirmed on Sunday afternoon that six bodies had been found in the smouldering wreckage.
Family friend Peter Macloughlin visited the remains of the family home on Sunday.
‘The mother came out very distressed saying the children were inside as was her partner there was nothing I could do,’ he told Nine news.
Mr Macloughlin said he was ‘devastated’ for the family.
‘(They were) great kids, the older one I just gave him a bike yesterday,’ he said.
The blaze was so intense firefighters were only able to pick through the remains of the house in the late afternoon after battling it from 6:18am.
Police were only able to clear the rubble and find the charred remains at night.
‘Once the fire was extinguished this afternoon by Queensland Fire and Emergency Services an initial examination of the scene located the bodies of six people, believed to be a man and five children,’ police said.
‘A port-mortem and scientific examination will take place to confirm the identities of the deceased.’
Pictured: The charred remains of the family home, which was destroyed in a fire n Sunday
Detectives flooded the area on Sunday and Monday, trying to determine the cause of the blaze
Members of the community left tributes for the children and their father on Monday (pictured)
On Sunday, Superintendent Matthew Kelly said Ms Stephenson was ‘very distressed’ but in a stable condition as she recovered in hospital.
‘These are young boys that could have become men in the future and a man has lost his life as well,’ the superintendent said.
‘We are still speaking with this lady, who has lost her entire family. It is truly tragic.’
In the fundraiser, Ms Slater wrote: ‘Samantha lost her five beautiful boys and there father to a house fire.’
‘We have started this go fund me to assist Samantha in the cost to putting her beautiful family to rest. Whatever you can donate will be appreciated.
‘Samantha will also be in need of the essential like clothes , personal hygiene products ect.
‘She had lost everything. We also appreciate you giving Samantha some time and space to grieve at this time as you can imagine.’
The blaze began at about 6am on Sunday and spread to two other houses, sending plumes of thick smoke billowing into the sky.
One home collapsed while firefighters worked to douse the flames on another.
About 20 firefighters were able to extinguish the flames on a third home.
Anyone with information or relevant footage of the incident are being urged to come forward as an investigation into the cause of the fire is underway.
‘Investigations are underway to determine the cause of the fire,’ police said.
Russell Island Rural Fire Brigade was the first to respond to the blaze, with witnesses then seeing ambulance and fire trucks boarding a barge to the island to assist.
Nine people, including neighbours, were treated at the scene by paramedics.
