I Never Thought It Would Be Our Last Goodbye – Husband’s Heartbreaking Tribute After House Fire Claims His Wife’s Life
THEY WALKED INTO THEIR HOME TOGETHER—ONLY SOME MADE IT OUT: HUSBAND’S EMOTIONAL TRIBUTE AFTER FATAL HOUSE FIRE CLAIMS TWO LIVES
A husband has shared his grief after his wife and a family friend were killed in a house fire south of Brisbane.
Sean “Ari” Laver was in a home in the Logan suburb of Kingston on Tuesday afternoon with his wife, two children, and two others when it suddenly went up in flames.
Leanne Laver, 63, and Phillip Gordon, 73, were killed in the blaze. Supplied
Laver, his children and a housemate were able to escape, but his wife Leanne Laver, 63, and Phillip Gordon, 73, were killed in the blaze.
Neighbours described hearing screams as flames took hold of the Logan household in minutes on Tuesday afternoon.
Speaking to reporters, Laver tearfully described his wife as “the most faithful, loving and selfless person”.
“I’m not feeling anything except [that] I should have died with my wife, and what am I going to do for my kids? That’s all that’s going through my head,” he said.
He revealed he had tried to guide his wife to safety, but she suffered from limited mobility, which made it more difficult for her to escape.
Laver said his wife suffered from cancer, but that they had received positive health news and thought they were on the path of recovery.
Sean “Ari” Laver revealed his wife was battling cancer, but had recently received positive health news. Today
“My wife didn’t deserve that. She’d been battling stage four lymphoma, we’d just had good reports, we thought we were on the right route,” he said.
The pair had been together for 42 years.
He suspected that Gordon, a family friend, may have initially escaped, but gone back inside to save some family pets.
Laver said he suspected an electrical fault on the ground floor could have sparked the blaze.
Police are still investigating how the fire started.
Laver and his family had lived at the home for more than 35 years.
Neighbour, Tiffany Tinker, said by the time she looked, flames were engulfing the house next door.
Emergency services respond to a fatal fire in Kingston. 9News
“[There were] obviously just yells of panic and upset that the neighbours in a house was going up in flames,” she said.
“And we’re all just yelling to make sure that, ‘Is there anybody inside? Is everybody okay?’”
The blaze spread rapidly through the property, with firefighters turning their attention to protecting neighbouring homes.
Police established an exclusion zone, shutting down multiple streets and urging the public to stay indoors.
The fire left little untouched, reducing five vehicles on the property to burnt-out shells.
