Community devastated by death of little Raven, and her babysitter, in fatal house inferno
A girl has been remembered for her cheerful smile and her babysitter as a loveable person after they died in a house fire east of Brisbane.
Raven Contini, eight, and her 31-year-old babysitter Stephanie Ryan were found dead in the Thorneside home after a blaze ripped through the townhouse on Sunday morning.
Child protection officers and the homicide squad are investigating what caused the fire with suspicious circumstances not yet ruled out.
Tributes of flowers, cards and toys have been left outside the Thorneside estate, with one message dedicated to Raven saying: āFly high beautiful girlā.
The girlās school remembered her as a precious gift to the community.
āStaff and students adored her cheerfulness, friendly smiling face and imagination,ā Birkdale South State School principal Amanda Turnbull said in a statement.
āRavenās love for bright ribbons will forever set her apart and remind us each day of the precious gift she was to our school community.ā
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The girlās parents were interstate at the time of the blaze and have since been informed of the tragedy.
āThey are obviously devastated,ā Detective Inspector Paul Dalton said.
Ms Ryanās family members have also laid flowers at the makeshift memorial outside the residence.
Ms Ryanās grandmother Thelma Cowell told reporters the 31-year-old was from the Northern Territory and had only been in Queensland on holiday for three days.
āI didnāt know them (Ravenās family) real well, I just know my granddaughter was babysitting,ā she said.
Asked to describe Ms Ryan, she said: āA loveable childā.
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Raven was found dead after emergency services rushed to the small coastal community on Sunday morning to find the townhouse ablaze.
Ms Ryan was initially declared unaccounted for after police could not get full access to the home as about 30 firefighters worked to extinguish flames so intense they caused part of the roof to collapse.
Ms Ryanās body was later found inside, with relatives of both victims organising fundraisers.
āStephy will always be remembered as a smiley happy young woman always there for anyone that needed her without question with great love for her family and friends,ā Ms Ryanās aunt Karen Linsley posted on GoFundMe.
āWe are all devastated with the news of what happened yesterday.
āWe would like to give Steph the send off she deserves any help is much appreciated by all our family.ā
A family friend was living in the garage at the time of the fire but had left briefly to go to the shops, coming home to find the townhouse alight.
The man had been āvery co-operativeā with police, Det Insp Dalton said.
āWe have no suspects,ā he said.
āThereās nothing to say that this fire is suspicious in any way, but we will treat it as though it is, until we find it, make a determination one way or another.ā
Police are urging anyone with information, mobile or CCTV footage to contact them.
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