8-year-old boy tragically dies while trying to save toddler sister from fire that destroyed their family home
An eight-year-old boy from New Zealand died in an attempt to save her infant sister from a house fire, his family has said. Brayden was found outside the bedroom of his nine-month-old sister, while his brother Lucas, 6, managed to escape. Brayden and Lucas used to share the same bedroom. The young boy and his sister Arianna died in the fire at their three-bedroom house on Vivian St, Burwood, on July 14 night while other family members including Lucas survived. Reports also claimed that the father of the children, Des Cooke, tried to crawl back to the house to save them, but was forced to withdraw.
Angela Martin, the grandmother of the children, said that Brayden’s mother Nicole Mulligan believed the devastating fire was ignited by a fan heater. The family was alerted by a fire alarm.
"It was a reasonably new heater they had bought to keep the baby's room warm. [They] think it was the heater because there's no other reason,” the old woman said. However, authorities have yet to determine the cause of the fire. According to reports, the fatal incident has left the family devastated as they lost two of their four children. Speaking of Mulligan, Martin said: “She said to me, ‘my babies have died, my babies have died, I’m having a nightmare.' I thought she was having a nightmare and I said 'what are you talking about' and she said 'Brayden and Arianna', and she was screaming down the phone.”
According to reports, Cooke was woken up by the fire alarm, but he was only able to save two of his four children. "He walked into the room and just said ‘I tried so hard, I’m so sorry, I tried',” Angela added. The heartbroken father said that he thought Brayden escaped the fire as he and Lucas shared the same room. “He thought he got them all out, and he ran back in and ended up having to go back out ... and said 'where's Brayden', and Lucas said ‘he didn’t come out’, so Des went back in with one of the neighbors to try and find Brayden,” Martin said.
The grandmother added that the eight-year-old had an "absolute heart of gold". “He knew he was really loved. He protected his brothers and sisters as best he could, he doted over his two baby sisters,” Martin said as she added the death of Brayden had ripped her heart out. "We’re absolutely devastated. Nicole loves all of her kids so much... not one of those kids ever thought that they weren't loved.”
To help the tragedy-struck family, a Givealittle page has been created that stated: “Des, heroically saved the lives of his two other young children and suffered injuries himself after re-entering the burning house in an attempt to save Brayden and Arianna.” The page has been created by Ashley Looyer, an aunt of Brayden. It has raised around $181,936 for the family.
“Your donations will help the family of Brayden and Arianna cover funeral costs and help them get back on their feet without the financial burden that will accompany this horrific loss. Donations will go towards funeral costs and to help Brayden and Arianna's immediate family get back on their feet,” Looyer has written on the page.