Lalor Park house fire: The way dad allegedly started blaze that killed three of his kids - as cops probe second mystery explosion that engulfed their home in flames
- Three children died in the house fire at Lalor Park
- Pillow allegedly kit on fire sparked inital blaze
- READ MORE: Four words accused killer father allegedly shouted
A young dad allegedly started a blaze that killed three of his children by setting a pillow on fire and hurling it at his partner, seconds before a second explosion engulfed their home in flames.
Dean Heasman, 28, allegedly barricaded his partner Stacey Gammage, 29, and their kids inside their housing commission home in Lalor Park, in Sydney's west, at about 1am on Sunday and set it on fire.
Two boys, age three and six, were given CPR at the scene and rushed to Westmead Hospital in a critical condition, where they died of their injuries.
Firefighters found the body of a 10-month-old girl inside the home.
The children's mother had to be sedated after detectives told her three of her children had perished in the inferno. Her four other children survived the blaze.
Investigators have spent the last two days looking for clues as to what sparked the blaze.
Heasman allegedly threw a pillow on fire at his partner, which was partly responsible for igniting the blaze, reported the Daily Telegraph.
Investigators are also probing whether Heasman allegedly used an accelerant after a second explosion engulfed the home in flames moments after he threw the fully alight pillow at his partner.
Dean Heasman, 28, and Stacey Gammage, 29, are pictured together. They had seven children, three are now dead
Shocked neighbours and friends placed flowers and candles outside the home on Monday
Among the evidence removed from the house were two water bottles with a brownish petrol-like liquid inside.
Police allege Heasman held the front door shut when emergency services arrived and shouted, 'Let me die here' as the children screamed for help inside.
It is further alleged he dragged some of the children back inside as they tried to escape.
Heasman is reported to have suffered burns to his skin and throat and the affects of smoke inhalation during the tragedy
He remains in an induced coma as detectives wait to interview him.
His condition reportedly worsened on Monday, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Pictured: A forensic investigator pulled a bottle of brownish petrol-like liquid from the scene where three kids burned to death
Pictured: Forensics holding a second bottle of tea-brown liquid, during an investigation into the cause of the blaze
Neighbours told Daily Mail Australia that all three front rooms of the home were quickly engulfed with flames, before power lines began to spark and snapped off the house.
Local resident Jarrod Hawkins, whose daughter was friends with one of the surviving children, was hailed a hero after rushing to the burning home and saving a nine-year-old girl and her three brothers, aged 4, 7 and 11.
The eldest boy told his rescuers: 'Dad tried to kill me.'
Once Mr Hawkins left the burning home with four children, they were placed on the other side of the road before another neighbour Damien Dubois decided to move them away from the scene.
'I had the four kids and they were cold so we picked them up and took them into the back room of my place,' Mr Dubois told Daily Mail Australia.
'I was trying to console them. The two younger kids weren't saying anything so I picked them up and took them out of the way of all this trauma.
'They didn't need to watch it all.'
Mr Dubois recalled Heasman taking some of the children on quad bike rides around the local neighbourhood just a few weeks ago.
The commission housing was quickly engulfed in flames in the early hours of Sunday morning
Pictured: Firefighters were seen shovelling soot and debris from the property on Sunday
Neighbours and family friends left floral tributes for the three kids who died on Sunday
Family friends arrived at the scene after news of the tragedy broke on Sunday, with many leaving floral tributes.
One family friend, Douglas King, added: 'I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it with my own eyes.
'[Heasman] was always with his kids and he was good to the kids - nice, calm and collected. He was telling me last year he had a newborn on its way.'
Mr King said he was shattered by the tragedy because he thought Heasman, who he affectionately called 'Deano reamo' and 'Deano the albino' was a 'respectful person with morals'.
He added: 'Deano was a good person. It’s mad. It's devastating. I hope the kids fight through it. I hope they survive. I feel bad for Stacey.'
Another said: 'I've known Deano since we were grasshoppers in pre-school and I can't believe this.'
Mr Hawkins has since set up online fundraising page to help support family members once they've released from hospital.
Neighbour Jarrod Hawkins (pictured hugging his son) was praised for rushing into the burning home. Police said his actions 'saved further lives from being lost'
Neighbour Damien Dubois (pictured) rushed to the scene to bring the surviving children inside, away from the burning house
During a press conference on Sunday, Blacktown Police Acting Superintendent Jason Pietruszka said Mr Hawkins' actions at the scene 'saved further lives from being lost'.
He was unable to confirm whether Heasman was armed while trying to stop others from entering the property, but he said that would be a line of inquiry within the coming days.
Homicide Squad Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty said police were treating the fire as a domestic-related multiple homicide.
He said at Ms Gammage and her surviving children are being treated at Westmead Hospital for burns and smoke inhalation.
Heasman is under police guard in an induced coma in the intensive care unit. No charges have been laid.
'At this stage it does appear the 28-year-old is responsible for multiple deaths of young lives that have been tragically taken away,' Det Supt Doherty said.
'We're alleging the 28-year-old man took actions to prevent the young people inside being rescued.'
