Neighbours recall frantic 'screaming and yelling' as Aussie girl killed in house fire

Eight-year-old Raven has now been identified as the young girl who was killed in the fire that engulfed her family home in Thorneside just after 7am on Sunday.

Two images of eight-year-old Raven are seen. The young girl lost her life in a fire east of Brisbane on Sunday.
Eight-year-old Raven has been identified as the victim of a horrific house fire that tore through a suburban home in Brisbane on Sunday. Source: NCA Newswire

Neighbours have described the harrowing moment a suburban home went up in flames with an Aussie schoolgirl and her babysitter inside, describing the unimaginable scenes as "horrible" and "tragic."

Eight-year-old Raven has now been identified as the young girl who was killed in the fire, that engulfed her family home on Bayside Court in Thorneside, east of Brisbane, just after 7am on Sunday. Raven's babysitter, a woman in her 30s, remains unaccounted for.

It's understood when fire crews arrived, the townhouse was fully alight, and the girl’s body was found sometime after. Investigators are now working to determine what caused the blaze, which took almost two dozen firefighters an hour to extinguish.

Raven's family home is seen in two images. The property went up in flames in Thorneside, east of Brisbane.
Police have declared the sight a crime scene as they work to determine the fire's cause. Source: 9News

One neighbour, Xia Iheng, described how she desperately tried to assist after witnessing the fire tear through the home. "I said 'I don't have a hose, I only have buckets' and a young lady helped me to water the fire, but it was so strong," Iheng told the ABC.

"I feel overwhelmed, many emotions, just shocked and exhausted."

Another neighbour used washing baskets to dump water over the fence. "There were a lot of people just screaming and yelling," Kylie Spalding told 7News. "It was out of control, people were trying to run in there, but it was, you know, just black smoke. It’s horrible, and it’s tragic."

Raven’s mother and stepfather were interstate at the time of the fire, and have remembered how much the eight-year-old loved cooking, shopping and socialising. "(She was a) very special, very well loved eight-year-old girl," they told Nine News. "She was very pretty, (had) long hair and she lifted them up when they saw her."

Raven is seen on the left, beside an image of the girl and her parents on the right.
Raven's parents, right, were reportedly interstate at the time of the fire, which claimed the lives of their daughter Raven and her babysitter. Source: 7News

While no other injuries have been reported, Chief Inspector Hahne said he expected it would take some time to determine the cause of the fire. "It’s a confronting scene for all emergency services, and I’m quite sure for the residents and our hearts go out to the families affected by this," Hahne said.

"For the next few hours and even the next couple of days, this scene will be an ongoing investigation. There was some support from neighbours, people surrounding to get it under control."

Chief Inspector Hahne said the fire was under control by 8am but firefighters are continuing to make the structure "safe".

Photos from the scene show one side of the roof collapsed during the blaze. Queensland Police have declared the fire a crime scene as investigations into the cause of the blaze are underway.

with NCA Newswire

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