Inquest into the death of Blake Harvey

0y · Male·Burns from fire

A six-month-old child died from burns after a fire started at a roadhouse accommodation when his older sibling (5 years old) ignited a portable gas cooker with a cigarette lighter. The cooker was accessible in the room despite the mother's attempts to secure it. The child had 80% full-thickness burns and died during retrieval to hospital. A Royal Flying Doctor made the decision to transport rather than resuscitate on scene, later acknowledging in hindsight that inserting an intraosseous line before departure would have been preferable. Non-functional smoke detectors (due to missing batteries stolen by backpackers) and an outdated demountable building provided no protection. The coroner found no culpability; the death reflected inadequate supervision of a young child accessing hazardous equipment.