Lalor Park house fire: Haunting family photos emerge of a father smiling alongside his children and partner

Old family photos have resurfaced after a father was accused of trying to stop first responders from entering a house fire that killed three children. 

Emergency services, including at least 20 firefighters and six fire trucks, rushed to Freeman Street at Lalor Park at 1am on Sunday following reports a home was ablaze. 

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 NSW extinguished the fire before the body of a third child, believed to be a 10-month-old girl, was found.

The three children are yet to be formally identified.

Four other children, including a nine-year-old girl and three boys aged 11, seven, and four were treated at the scene and taken to Westmead Hospital in stable condition.

Their mother Stacey Gammage, 29, was taken to hospital for smoke inhalation while her de-facto partner Dean Heasman, 28, was arrested and taken to hospital under police guard. 

Family photos have since emerged of Heasman smiling alongside his partner and holding one of the children in his arms.

Heasman was seen wearing glasses while he sat on the bed next to Ms Gammage with the pair smiling at the camera.

Another photo showed Heasman wearing a cap backwards on his head while holding a child in front of the computer. 

Ms Gammage had gushed over her children on her social media accounts.

‘Love our babies,’ her Facebook profile read.

‘Mum to the best kids. My babies are my world,’ her Instagram account read as well. 

Heasman suffered serious burns and smoke inhalation from the fire and was placed in an induced coma in the intensive care unit. 

During a press conference on Sunday, police confirmed the fire was being treated as a domestic violence attack. 

Homicide Squad Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty said: ‘Three young lives taken away in the most tragic of circumstances.’ 

Mr Doherty alleged Heasman hindered efforts by first responders, police and neighbours to gain access to the home. 

‘Those actions were intentional in keeping responders and neighbouring out of the property with the intention of keeping the kids inside the property,’ he said. 

‘The 28-year-old man is in an induced coma being treated for smoke inhalation and other mental issues related to the fire.’ 

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. 

It is understood witnesses heard Heasman yelling something like: ‘let me die here’ while the fire burned.  

Blacktown Police Acting Superintendent Jason Pietruszka told reporters when police arrived at the home Heasman ‘frustrated’ their attempts to get inside. 

‘I can confirm during police attempts to get into the property, those efforts were frustrated by a male inside,’ he said. 

Mr Pietruszka praised first responders for their ‘heroic’ efforts despite allegedly being hindered by the man. 

‘The first responders were quite heroic in what they did, trying to gain access to a property that was well on fire,’ he said. 

Mr Pietruszka explained one neighbour assisted at the scene and his actions ‘saved further lives from being lost’. 

Mr Pietruszka said Heasman was not adversely known to police and was not known to the court for any current matters.

Neighbours told Daily Mail Australia officers were seen at the the home last week, however police would not confirm. 

It is understood the home was a housing commission property, where Ms Gammage lived along with Heasman and the seven children. 

Daily Mail Australia spoke with ‘hero’ neighbour on Sunday. 

‘I heard some stuff outside at 1am but by the time I came outside emergency was here – I couldn’t do anything,’ Jarrod said. 

The young father explained his daughter was friends with the nine-year-old girl and said one of the boys had autism. 

He described the children as ‘unreal’ and claimed Ms Gammage and Heasman appeared to be happy. 

His partner told Daily Mail Australia she was proud of him for running over to the home and trying to help. 

‘He did 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. I don’t know what he heard when he got to the house and I can’t imagine.’

Another neighbour, Damien Dubois, said all three rooms at the front of the house were alight, with the surviving children place 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 told Daily Mail Australia. 

‘I was trying to console them. The two younger kids weren’t saying anything so I picked them up and took them out of the way of all this trauma.’

Mr Dubois said both Jarrod and the police were screaming at the 29-year-old man to ‘get out, get out’ of the burning home. 

He said police performed CPR on the 10-month-old baby girl on the footpath outside the home for about 40 minutes.  

‘They were so little,’ he said. 

Douglas King, who was friends with Heasman, arrived on the scene on Sunday morning, said the house fire was ‘devastating’. 

‘He was a good person – calm and collected, he talked nice, asked me if I was fine. It’s upsetting. Devastating,’ Mr King said.

‘I met the kids because they went to the school where my sister went. He was always with his kids. He was good to the kids – nice, calm and collected. 

‘He was telling me he has a newborn on its way. As soon as he told me I got down on the ground because it hurts. It’s bulls**t. 

‘He has morals, was a respectful person. I hope the kids fight through it. Three gone, however how many is left. I hope they survive. I feel bad for her.’

Brett Carroll, another friend of Heasman, said he seemed ‘a bit down’ on Thursday morning when they walked their children to school.

‘He didn’t seem his happy self,’ Mr Carroll told The Australian.

‘It’s way out of character for this bloke … He cracked.’

Detective Superintendent Doherty said the surviving children had a long road to recovery and encouraged the community to band together in support.   

‘These are young lives have been lost, older siblings have lost their siblings,’ Mr Doherty said. 

‘We need to be reminded that these circumstances are extraordinary. We hope the community come together and galvanise and help the family,’ Mr Doherty said. 

‘The community will be feeling this impact for some time. We implore those people to come together and support each other during these times.’ 

Mr Pietruszka added: ‘It’s completely and utterly devastating for people that know the family, that go to school with the other children that live within there’. 

‘It’s a close-knit community. They know each other, they see each other regularly. This will have a long-lasting impact.’

It is understood Ms Gammage is aware but under sedation as she is treated for her injuries.

The home was declared a crime scene, with police and forensic investigators at the property on Sunday morning. 

The blaze tore through the brick home, 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 the wallpaper inside the front rooms was flaking off. 

Power cables leading to the house also appeared to have been burnt off by the fire.

NSW Fire and Rescue Superintendent Adam Dewberry described the scene as ‘absolute chaos’. 

‘Going to a house fire, you’re always expecting the worst, hoping it won’t be but this was confronting, absolute chaos’, Mr Dewberry said. 

‘They got in, commenced their fire fighting operations, got in and did that search, got those two children out, handed them over to paramedics who then continued with that emergency medical treatment.’

The State Crime Command Homicide squad along with the Arson squad have launched an investigation into the exact circumstances 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. 

Anyone with information about the blaze is being urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1300 333 000.  

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