Family members have recounted the bravery of a woman during yesterday’s tragic shed fire in Victoria’s west, which claimed the lives of two children.
Three-year-old Saige and eighteen-month-old Ashlynn McGregor perished when the shed they were playing in at Officer Court, a Corio suburb, caught fire.
Following severe burns, two further kids, ages 4 and 6, named Isaac and Mavis, were transported to the Royal Children’s hospital in a serious state.
They continue to struggle for survival. All four of the kids are believed to have been inside the shed when a couch was set on fire. Jasmine Beck, their mother, hurried to assist.
After desperately pushing aside the smouldering couch that was obstructing the doorway, she sustained burns on her hands.
The father of the children’s brother, Anthony McGregor, stated that Beck is still having difficulty accepting the loss. “She is inconsolable. He remarked, “She’s not taking care of herself.”
She is attempting to help her suffering children and be the best mother she can be at this time. If you’re a parent, you know how it feels to lose two children in a matter of weeks, and to have the other two struggling to survive.
“You know how it feels to worry for your child when they cut their hand; imagine this feeling magnified by 1000, by a million. She can’t handle it. She is enduring a very difficult period.”
The kids were characterised by McGregor as “loving and boisterous”. “Ashlynn is like the love of my life,” he stated.
“Mavis and Isaac were the first two kids that ever taught me how to love properly.”They are our family’s infants, the newest members, and they are no longer with us. “That’s how we want everyone to remember them.”
It was described as a “chaotic scene” by Victoria Police Inspector Emma Bartel to reporters yesterday. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined by the authorities, and it is not being considered suspicious.
