Family devastated after mother and friend perish
Only four of six people who tried to escape a devastating fire south of Brisbane made it out, leaving a family inside mourning the loss of a deceased mother and friend.
Leanne Laver, 63, and Phillip Gordon, 73, were trapped in the wooden house in Kingston that went up in flames around 3pm on Tuesday.
Police declared a no-go zone in suburban Logan, while seven teams of firefighters quickly extinguished the flames that engulfed the entire building.
Leanne’s husband Sean Laver, also known as Ari, escaped unharmed along with the couple’s daughter Chloe, son Jay and flatmate Lucas Kirby.
Neighbors described hearing screams and cries of panic as flames destroyed the house and burned five vehicles parked outside.
Laver had lived in the house for 35 years and the family told reporters at the scene that they did everything they could to save the dead couple.
Sean Laver told Today He said Wednesday morning that he and his wife have been together for 40 years, describing her as “the most loyal, loving and selfless person.”
He said he believed an electrical fault on the ground floor caused the fire, and the house caught fire within about three minutes.
“I don’t feel anything except that I have to die with my wife and what will I do for my children. That’s the only thing going through my mind,” he said.
“My wife did not deserve this, she was fighting stage four lymphoma, we had received new reports, we thought we were on the right track.”
He said he thought Gordon might have returned to save the family’s pet cat.
Police were still investigating the cause of the fire on Wednesday morning and a report will be prepared for the coroner.
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