Police probe 'suspicious' blaze as four die and 31 are injured in raging fire at Sydney nursing home. Flames flared in two different parts of the building. Sniffer dogs were used to hunt for traces of gasoline. Rescued residents in beds lined the footpath.Firefighters had to crawl through thick black smoke to reach the Residents.
A fire which tore through a Sydney nursing home killing four elderly people and injuring 31 was today being treated as 'suspicious' by police.Homicide detectives and forensics officers are sifting through the charred and smouldering ruin of the home in the suburb of Quakers Hill. Sniffer dogs are being brought in to detect for any traces of gasoline. A blaze flared in two different parts of the building forcing 88 residents to be evacuated, many covered in soot. Several are in a serious condition suffering from burns and smoke inhalation.
The elderly and infirm who could not flee the fire were pulled, still in their beds, on to the pavement amid chaotic scenes.
Beds containing those elderly residents who had been rescued lined the pavement with frightened and confused old people being looked after by ambulance officers and police.
Firemen even hosed down some of the soot-covered residents as they lay outside in their beds.
Thirty-two were taken to eight hospitals suffering from smoke inhalation and some with burns - 14 of those are in intensive care, four with severe burns.
New South Wales Fire Commissioner Greg Mullins described the scene as 'chaotic' and 'tragic' as more than 100 fire crews, police and ambulance officers arrived at the home on Hambledon Road, just after 5am.
'This is a firefighter's worst nightmare,' Mr Mullins said. 'Turning up to a nursing home with elderly people who can't get themselves out of harm's way.
'Firefighters could not see their hands in front of their faces in the thick smoke so you can imagine what it was like for the elderly trying to escape.'
He said that firefighters had crawled into the building through the thick smoke, reaching up to feel into beds to establish if there was anyone there who they could rescue.
'Getting them out was like a military operation,' he said.
The wards at the back of the home, which is described on its website as providing a 'secure, friendly and home-style environment.' were completely gutted.
Relatives of the residents - some of whom are believed to be British-born - arrived at the scene, praying that their loved ones were among those rescued.
NSW fire Superintendent Rick Parkes said the dead victims were found in a six-room ward at the back of the building.
It was separated from the other parts of the single-storey home when a fire door came down to stop the blaze from spreading.
There was no sprinkler system in the nursing home as they are not required under state laws.
At first it was feared that 15 had died but a police officer later downgraded the number to 'less than 10'.
Freelance cameraman Adrian Munn, choking back tears at what he had witnessed, said: 'I saw only smoke when I arrived, billowing everywhere. One of the police officers grabbed me and asked me to get all the footage I could.'
'They wanted to get as much as they could for an ongoing investigation.'
He added: 'It's quite a thing down here. It is very, very, sad, seeing elderly people gasping for breath, moaning and crying for help. It was a heartrending scene.'
Firefighters reported flames shooting through the roof at one end of the building while another blaze was believed to have started in a bedroom.
NSW assistant police commissioner Robert Redfern confirmed the fire was being treated as 'suspicious' and revealed that homicide and arson squads had joined fire investigators and forensic officers at the scene.'
But he stressed that 'all fires such as this' were considered suspicious.
Detective Superintendent Michael Willing, from the homicide squad, said his detectives were involved because it was a 'complex investigation'.
He told the Sydney Morning Herald: 'It's going to take a long time to establish what has happened here.
'We treat all of these matters as suspicious until we can eliminate the possibility of that being suspicious.
'So at this point, we just don't know what we've got on our hands.'
It could be days or weeks until examination of the fire scene can be completed, he said, due to fears the building could collapse.
The Reverend Dave Hilliard, the senior state police chaplain, praised two young police officers who were among the first to enter the burning building and rescue residents.
"They're young and being asked to do some extraordinary things beyond their years," he said. "I'm blown away by them."
Families of victims are being cared for in the Quakers Hill Anglican Church by counsellors and chaplains from emergency services.
The fire is Sydney's worst since 16 residents died in a nursing home blaze in suburban Sylvania Heights in 1981.
This Fire is being treated as suspicious (Wilful Fire Raising) Whay kind of person could intentionally start a Fire In a ResidentialCare Home? This amounts to multiple murders and attempted murders. I hope they find the culprit quickly.
No comments:
Post a Comment