A Logan Central family of 11, with nine children between the ages of one and 16, has been left homeless but not without their lives, thanks to the heroic actions of their neighbours.
The Jacaranda Avenue house was gutted by a house fire this morning at 9.30am.
Neighbour Ivy Tafa said it was her 13 year old son who called for emergency services.
Mrs Tafa said usually her husband would be out working and she would be at a 9.30am F45 gym class, however it was meant to be that they were both home this morning.
“I don’t know what would have happened to those kids if my husband and I weren’t home,” she said.
“My husband had a RDO and for some reason something inside me was telling me to stay home this morning.
“My husband was working in the front yard and I was cleaning upstairs with my son who was home sick when I heard a piercing desperate scream.
“Destiny, the eldest daughter (16 years old) was screaming my name. You could hear the terror in her voice…I don’t think I’ll ever forget that.”
Between tears Mrs Tafa retold how her husband fled into the burning home next door, while she flung one of the neighbours daughters over the high boundary fence to safety.
“You see that fence, it’s over two metres high. I reached down and grabbed that little girl and pulled her to safety,” she said.
“We acted as quickly as we could to get the four children who were home to safety.
House fire on Jacaranda Avenue. (Photo: Madeline Grace)
“We had all of the kids in our van out the front of the house and their dog also managed to escape the fire. He ran into the van too.
“The family’s new puppy is missing too but no one has been able to find the body, so it’s not confirmed dead yet. We’re pretty sure he’s just taken off because he was scared.”
Louie Naumovski from Logan House Fire Support Network said he was blown away by Mrs Tafa’s bravery, and plans to nominate her and her husband for bravery awards.
“She has been making a huge effort to get the community behind us to support the family,” he said.
“Her place is currently the drop off centre for donations.
“She’s asking anyone who can, to please drop off kids clothes, shoes, food, literally anything.
“The fire this morning completely destroyed the top storey of the house and the family lost everything.
“We’re doing our best to try and find emergency accommodation for them but with nine children it’s been a struggle.”
If you would like to donate to the family, the drop off address is 126 Jacaranda Avenue, Logan Central.
