Survivor recalls how she fled burning Heckenberg home that killed two neighbours – as harrowing new details emerge

A survivor fought back tears as she recalled how she and her young family narrowly escaped a fatal house fire while visiting a neighbour.

Holli Bowmer was at Veronica Carmady’s home in Heckenberg in Sydney south-west with her partner and two kids late on Tuesday night when her daughter Poppi raised the alarm after spotting smoke coming from the lounge room.

Flames erupted within seconds. 

Ms Bowmer grabbed her two-year-old son and raced to an open window to jump out with her two children.

‘I had to- I had the baby and I jumped down but Poppi was too scared to jump so our friend Paula, who was there threw her out the window, so she got out safe,’ she told Nine News.

Her neighbour Ms Carmady, 46, initially escaped the home but then ran back inside ito rescue her six-year-old daughter Aurora.

Neither of them came out alive. 

‘She went back in, I think, a few times …there’s no way she would’ve left them in there,’ Ms Bowmer said.

Ms Bowner’s partner, Lucas, 50 was rushed to hospital, as was Ms Carmady’s two-year-old daughter, Brooklyn.

He smashed a window of the home to pull Brooklyn from the flames.

Lucas suffered severe burns and was rushed to Concord Hospital, where he remains in a critical condition.

‘He’s just amazing and I just hope he’s okay,’ his partner said. 

Brooklyn remains in a coma at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead after she suffered severe smoke inhalation.

Her older brother, Nathan Wilson, described the toddler as a ‘warrior’.

‘She’s doing well, they’re hoping to take the tube out tomorrow to see if she can breathe on her own. Hopefully if all is good she should be home next week,’ he said.

Mr Wilson described his late sister Aurora as the most little beautiful girl in the world’.

A neighbour told Daily Mail Australia she heard screams coming from the home on St Johns Road as the deadly fire erupted.

She remains traumatised by what she heard and saw.

‘The little girl was screaming for help. ‘Help, help, I need help’,’ the woman said. 

‘I can’t get it out of my head, I’ll never forget those frightened screams.’

Emergency services were called to the home at about 12.40am on Wednesday where they found it engulfed in flames.

After entering the house, police and fire crews made the heartbreaking discovery of two bodies. 

‘There was nothing we could do, the fire had already taken hold with flames venting out the front windows,’ Fire and Rescue NSW superintendent Adam Dewberry told 2GB’s Ben Fordham.

Eight people – including four children and four adults – managed to escape the burning home.

A 14-year-old girl was also taken to Liverpool Hospital. 

A boy, aged two, a seven-year-old girl, a man aged 36 and two women aged 37 and 51, were checked at the scene by paramedics.

Police established a crime scene to investigate the circumstances surrounding the fire.

‘This home is completely gutted, it’s absolutely been destroyed. Fire ripped through the home,’ Superintendent Dewberry said.

‘It’s absolutely just a shell of itself, so they’re sifting through to have a look at where and how this fire actually started.’

He said there was no indication the home had working smoke alarms. 

‘It doesn’t matter what starts the fire but we do know working smoke alarms save lives,’ he said.

‘Smoke alarms are that first line of defence for you to protect yourself, your family and your loved ones.’

A report will be prepared for the coroner.