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Newcastle Herald
Newcastle Herald
National
Nick Bielby

No formal inquiry into tragic Singleton fire

A memorial outside the ruins of the Singleton home in 2019.

A formal inquiry into a house fire that claimed the lives of three children at Singleton will not be conducted and inquests into the deaths of the siblings will not take place, with Magistrate Hugh Donnelly saying it would not take the "extremely tragic case" any further.

Twins Matylda and Scarlett, 5, and their brother Blake, 11, died when the Atkins family home on Brittliffe Close became an inferno in the early hours of June 26, 2019.

Their mother, Kara, and their sister Bayley, 8, were rescued by neighbours.

Blake died inside the home - Matylda and Scarlett were pulled from the house by firefighters but were pronounced dead at Singleton Hospital as a result of their injuries.

The tragedy rocked the small Hunter Valley mining community.

Magistrate Donnelly, the Coroner at Singleton Local Court, released a statement on Friday saying he had decided not to conduct a formal inquiry into the cause of the blaze because he was satisfied it was accidental and started in the south-west corner of the living room.

He also said he would not conduct inquests into the three children's deaths because they would "not take this matter any further".

Magistrate Donnelly said the loss of the children's lives was "a devastating tragedy" for their family, friends and the community as a whole.

"The house fire was an extremely traumatic event," he said.

Magistrate Donnelly said he had recommended that the bravery of neighbours, police, firefighters, paramedics and medical personnel at Singleton Hospital who were involved in the aftermath of the devastating blaze be formally recognised.

"The effort and risks taken by the members of the community to save the children when the fire was raging was truly extraordinary," he said in the statement.

"These people responded speedily and put their lives on the line when the fire was at its worst and the building was collapsing.

"The response of all emergency services involved was exceptional."

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