House fire in north of WA tragically claims lives of three children

The mother of the three children who perished in the horrifying home fire has been detained and is cooperating law enforcement with their investigation.

When witnesses reported a property was on fire on Tuesday at 4:45 p.m. in Port Hedland, Western Australia—1,500 kilometers north of Perth—fire men raced there.

First responders discovered the remains of three youngsters in the debris after battling to put out the fire for 30 minutes.

The youngest was just five months old, while the two older children are a boy aged seven and a 10-year-old girl.

Earlier on Wednesday, Premier Mark McGowan revealed a person has been taken into custody and is assisting police with inquiries.

‘There’s currently a criminal investigation underway as to how the fire started and someone is in custody,’ Mr McGowan said.

As he gave a news conference on Wednesday to give an update on the inquiry, acting deputy commissioner Allan Adams was overcome with emotion.

Mr. Adams stated that he is not now at ease to discuss further since there are “many questions as to the circumstances leading up to this tragedy.”

‘We will be looking back to see if there were any opportunities for this to have been prevented,’ he said. ‘(We will) deconstruct all the events leading up to the fire.’

The children’s mother is seeking medical treatment as a result of the fire.

Mr Adams said each of the children’s fathers have been notified of the tragedy.

Port Hedland mayor Peter Carter said his tight knit community is grieving the loss but will ‘rally’ to support the family.

‘It’s early days yet, we don’t know exactly how or why this thing has happened, police are still doing their investigation,’ he said.

‘My condolences go to the family and the community. Hedland is a beautiful community and they will rally behind the people who need it at this time.

‘This is just unprecedented, I’m lost for words I really am, this just doesn’t happen. It’s gut-wrenching.’

The street was teeming with police and paramedics and police tape cordoned off the area hundreds of metres away from the scene by the early evening.

Regional energy provider Horizon was also called to the scene and police are investigating the cause of the fire.

‘Local police, including detectives, remain at the scene tonight and specialist investigators from the Major Crime Division and Forensics will travel to Port Hedland to continue investigations,’ police said.