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A 13-year-old girl is dead, and four others suffered life-threatening injuries following a house fire in Queensland, Australia, on Nov. 23Police are looking into the possibility that an e-bike may have started the blaze, according to reportsFollowing the tragic incident, loved ones are remembering the funny young girl, who had a big personality
A 13-year-old girl is dead, and four others are in critical condition after an early-morning fire broke out at a home in Queensland, Australia. Detectives are now investigating whether an e-bike battery may have caused the deadly blaze, according to reports.
On Sunday, Nov. 23, first responders rushed to the scene of a significant fire in Lawnton, a suburb north of Brisbane, just after 5:30 a.m. local time. A woman and a man in their thirties and two teenagers escaped, but were transported to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries, The Courier Mail, news.com.au and 7News Australia reported. Savannah Kerr, 13, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the outlets.
A family friend said she spoke with the young girl’s mother two days before the devastating fire, The Courier Mail reported.
“And the worst part of all of this was on Friday,” the woman, identified as Jess J, told the outlet. “The mother was there at my house. And we’ve said, how many times that it can’t get any worse? And it has, it just keeps coming.”
The friend said she feared for the mother’s mental state.
“And then two days later her daughter dies,” the woman told The Courier Mail. “All year we have just been copping it all year with stuff that would break people. I’m pretty broken and I know when she wakes up she’s going to be destroyed.”
Prior to the fire, neighbors said they heard arguing, with children calling for assistance after the blaze erupted, according to the report.
By the time police arrived at the scene, the house was fully engulfed, and it took at least five fire crews to battle the fire, according to news.com.au. Images showed the roof had collapsed, and authorities told the outlet that neighboring homes had to be evacuated for about an hour.
On Sunday afternoon, Moreton District Senior Sergeant Joseph Zitny said that they believe the deceased person lived at the home, and not all of the residents were present at the time of the fire, news.com.au reported. Zitny said that investigators are now probing whether a battery from an e-bike may have started the fire as part of their investigation.
“At this stage all I can say is that as I understand, there are some vehicles, an e-scooter and perhaps an e-bike, but that is still forming part of our investigation, one of our lines of inquiry,” said Zitny, according to the outlet.
In a news release shared with PEOPLE, the Queensland Police Service confirmed that a crime scene was declared, and an investigation is ongoing.
The Queensland Fire Department and the Coroners Court of Queensland did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.
Following the tragic fire, neighbors and loved ones are remembering the bright, funny young girl.
“Savannah definitely needs to be remembered,” Jess J told The Courier Mail. “She was such a character that it’s hard to even put into words.”
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The teen girl’s aunt created a GoFundMe to help her sister’s family, and wrote a tribute to her beloved niece.
“She was a bright, loving, beautiful soul,” the relative wrote, “and our hearts will never be the same without her.”
