The chilling words allegedly uttered by a young father as three of his children perished in a horror house fire have been revealed as he continues to fight for life in an induced coma.
Emergency services rushed to Freeman Street at Lalor Park in Sydney's westat 1am on Sunday following reports a home was ablaze.
Dean Heasman, 28, is alleged to have lit the house on fire while his 29-year-old de-facto partner Stacey Gammage and her seven children were inside.
Two boys, aged three and six, were taken to Westmead Hospital in a critical condition, but they died a short time later.
Fire and Rescue NSWextinguished the fire before the body of a third child, believed to be a 10-month-old girl, was found.
It's understood witnesses heard Heasman yelling something along the lines of 'let me die here' as he allegedly tried to stop neighbours and police from entering the burning home.
Neighbour Jarrod Hawkins has been hailed as a hero after rushing to the burning home minutes after it was engulfed in flames and helping save four children inside.
Raymond Gardiner's CCTV cameras captured the moment the housing commission home caught alight at about 12.55am.
Dean Heasman, 28, was rushed to hospital under police guard and remains in an induced coma
Firefighters rushed to the Lalor Park housing commission home shortly after 1am on Monday
Mr Hawkins was 'immediately there' at the scene within two minutes trying to help, according to the neighbour.
'You could actually see and hear the explosion from the window on the left side of the property,' Mr Gardiner told the Daily Telegraph.
Firefighters arrived on scene within six minutes of the triple-0 call.
'The flames were shooting out the front window at 20 feet,' another neighbour Brett told Nine News.
'It was a strong fire.'
Another woman added: 'The first thing we heard was the screaming.'
'It was terrible. It woke us all up.'
Heasman remains in hospital under police guard in an induced coma. No charges have been laid.
Details of Mr Hawkins' heroism emerged as a heartbreaking sight was spotted at the front of the house: a lone baby walker seen on the grass with colourful toys in stark contrast to the burnt home.
Without hesitation, Mr Hawkins ran into the house and helped pull a nine-year-old girl and three boys aged four, seven and 11, to safety.
'I heard some stuff outside at 1am but by the time I came outside emergency was here - I couldn't do anything,' Mr Hawkins told Daily Mail Australia on Sunday.
The young father said his daughter was friends with the nine-year-old girl and added that one of the boys had autism.
He described the children as 'unreal' and said Ms Gammage and Heasman appeared to be happy.
Fire and police investigators spent much on Sunday examining the gutted blaze which claimed the lives of three young children
Three young children, including a 10-month-old girl, died in the house fire (pictured) in Freeman Street, Lalor Park, in Sydney's west
Police allege that Dean Heasman (pictured with de facto partner Stacey Gammage) deliberately lit the fire and tried to prevent first responders and police from entering the home to save the children
His partner told Daily Mail Australia she was proud of him for running to the home and trying to help.
'Hedid what anyone would do. He heard the sirens and he ran over,' she said.
'I'm so proud of him. It's what you'd hope someone would do for your kids. Idon't know what he heard when he got to the house and I can't imagine.'
Another neighbour, DamienDubois, said all three rooms at the front of the house were alight, with the surviving children placed on the other side of the road.
'They had seven kids. I had the four kids and they were cold so we picked them up and took them into the back room,' Mr Dubois said.
'I was trying to console them. The two younger kids weren'tsaying anything so I picked them up and took them out of the way of all this trauma.'
Neighbour Jarrod Hawkins (pictured hugging his son) was praised for rushing into the burning home. Police said Mr Hawkins' actions 'saved further lives from being lost'
Neighbour Damien Dubois (pictured) rushed to the scene to help the surviving children
Mr Dubois said he was approached by the eldest child who had burns on both his arms, and told him 'he (Heasman) tried to kill me, I nearly died'.
He added both Mr Hawkins and the police were screaming at Heasman to 'get out, get out' of the burning home.
Blacktown Police Acting Superintendent Jason Pietruszka praised the actions of the first responders as 'quite heroic'.
'The first responders were quite heroic in what they did, trying to gain access to a property that was well on fire,' he said.
Superintendent Pietruszka explained Mr Hawkins assisted at the scene and his actions 'saved further lives from being lost'.
He was unable to confirm reports that Heasman was allegedly armed while trying to stop others from entering the property but added it would be a line of inquiry in the investigation over the coming days.
The four surviving children pulled from the burning house were treated at the scene before being taken to Westmead Hospital in a stable condition.
Ms Gammage was taken to hospital for smoke inhalation while Heasman was arrested and taken to hospital under police guard.
Heasman suffered serious burns and smoke inhalation from the fire and was placed in an induced coma in the intensive care unit.
It's understood that the Heasman and Ms Gammage been together for almost a decade and were listed as 'engaged' on a joint Facebook account.
Policeconfirmed Heasman was the father of the deceased children and lived at the home.
But they also stressed that he wasn't known to police or before the courts regarding any matter.
A baby walker was spotted in the front garden of the house, with its colourful toys in stark contrast to the blackened home
The fire tore through the home, with the bricks and window frames blackened and destroyed from where the flames blasted through the windows (pictured)
The State Crime Command Homicide squad along with the Arson squad have launched an investigation into the exact circ*mstances that caused the fire
During a press conference on Sunday, police alleged Heasman hindered the efforts of first responders, police and neighbours to gain access to the home and to save the children.
'Those actions were intentional in keeping responders and neighbouring out of the property with the intention of keeping the kids inside the property,' Homicide Squad detective superintendent Danny Doherty said.
'This is an incredibly sad set of circ*mstances … it's quite unimaginable how the family are coping with this.'
Neighbours who rushed to the scene and desperately tried to save the children from the burning home were allegedly fought off by Heasman.
Sources claim the father allegedly tried to drag the children back inside as rescuers attempted to pull them to safety.
Heasman allegedly wanted to keep himself, the children and their mother inside the home.
Grim pictures have emerged in the wake of the blaze, with the fire completely destroying the property from the inside out.
The front section of the house was blackened, with the bricks outside stained from where the flames blasted through the windows.
Outside window frames were scorched by the blaze, with the flames even licking the gutters on the roof.
The home's front door appeared burnt off its hinges, while power cables leading to the house also appeared to have been burnt off by the fire.
It is understood the home was a housing commission property, where Ms Gammage lived along with Heasman and the seven children.
Family photos have resurfaced showing a father smiling with his partner and children - before he is accused of dragging the kids into a burning house
Mr Doherty said police were treating the fire as a domestic-related multiple homicide.
'At this stage it does appear the 28-year-old is responsible for multiple deaths of young lives that have been tragically taken away,' Mr Doherty said.
'We're alleging the 28-year-old man took actions to prevent the young people inside being rescued.'
The State Crime Command Homicide squad along with the Arson squad have launched an investigation into the exact circ*mstances that caused the fire.
Police are also using a specially trained accelerant dog to determine how the fire spread so fast.
The cause of the fire is not yet known and a report will be prepared for the coroner.
Meanwhile, NSW Premier Chris Minns has vowed that his government will rally behind and support surviving family members for 'as long as necessary'
'This is horrifying and senseless - these children deserved love and protection and a caring home,' he said.
'Our love and thoughts are with the surviving family members. NSW will support them for as long as necessary, as they seek to recover from this unfathomable event.
'Our thoughts are also with the emergency service workers who fought to save lives last night and who will also be recovering in their own way after a horrible night.'
