Dozens of neighbours attempted to extinguish Port Hedland house fire that claimed the lives of three children
Dozens of neighbours attempted to put out a Port Hedland house fire that claimed the lives of three children by smashing windows and using garden houses to extinguish the blaze.
Firefighters found the bodies of a 10-year-old, seven-year-old and five-month-old inside the Port Hedland property, in Western Australia's Pilbara region, on Tuesday.
Their mother, Margaret Hawke, survived the fire and was taken into custody by police. No charges have been laid.
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Crime scene investigators have examined the scene of a fatal house fire in Western Australia, where three young children were killed. Supplied
Emergency services first received reports of the blaze about 4.45pm and fought the flames for an hour before finding the children.
Neighbours said they desperately tried to save them.
"These children were very very precious and they had a right to live, they had a right to life," family friend Lorraine Injie told 9News.
Police taped off an exclusion zone around the property on Wednesday afternoon.
The children's mother Margaret Hawke is in custody but no charges have been laid. Nine
WA Police Deputy Commissioner Allan Adams said their mother was assisting police with their inquiries.
She was taken to hospital under sedation after neighbours saw her emerge from the burning home with a cut on her face, asking them to call an ambulance.
Family friends described Hawke, who was seen hugging and kissing her children as she picked them up from school on Wednesday, as a loving mother.
Online, she described her daughter and two sons as her "everything in life".
"For my family I will do the best I can," she wrote.
Aunty Ann Hawke paid tribute to "precious babies ... taken too soon".
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WA Police Deputy Commissioner Allan Adams confirmed the mother of the children was assisting police with their inquiries. Nine
The deputy police commissioner said the incident would have a "profound impact" on Port Hedland, a mining town more than 1600 kilometres north-east of Perth.
"Whenever these incidents occur, they resonate with every West Australian," Adams said.
Neighbours told 9News they tried to use their hoses to extinguish the fire.
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