ichelle Draper and Eamonn Duff
A MAN broke a window to rescue a three-year-old girl from a neighbour's house yesterday, but could not help two other children who perished.
The victims of the blaze in the house at Sunbury, in Melbourne, were Connor Murphy, 5, and his 2-year-old brother, Logan. Five children, including a seven-month-old baby, and three adults were in the house at the time. They were using the house for temporary accommodation.
The fire is believed to have started after a child was found playing with a gas lighter. Simon Tanti, 38, said he heard a commotion at 6.20am and found smoke pouring from the house. Wearing only a pair of shorts and runners, he grabbed a rake, smashed the front bedroom window, pulled down the curtain and climbed inside.
"I couldn't see any flames," he said. "It was very dark and black. Because I couldn't see flames, which is a good sign, I just rummaged around and found a child on a bed."
Mr Tanti grabbed the three-year-old girl, escaped through the front window and laid her on the ground. "She was barely breathing, although she did come good," he said. The girl was later taken to the Royal Children's Hospital suffering burns.
None of the survivors were seriously injured, but the girl and a seven-year-old boy were taken to hospital.
Mr Tanti said he was not a hero: "I'd like to think if it happened to me, that the next bloke would do the same thing."
"They just kept saying, 'there are other kids in the house'."
The police arson squad will investigate the blaze.
Thirty-five firefighters battled to bring the blaze under control.
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