By CASEY NEILL
A DANDENONG toddler died in a fire this morning, locked inside his Potter Street home.
Detective Sergeant Lionel Joseph said the three-year-old boy’s mother “left the premises to attend to some innocent duties outside” about 10.30am today (Friday).
“As she did, she chose to leave her son inside, the door locked and secured to prevent him from coming out in the heat,” he said.
“After about 10 minutes of her being outside, and attending to moving some furniture around and rubbish, she looked at the premises and observed fire and smoke coming from the unit.”
Sgt Joseph said the single mother was unable to get back inside.
“The fire had taken hold and the heat and the smoke was just too strong for her to gain access,” he said.
“She’s obviously fairly distraught at the moment. She’s assisting investigators with their inquiries.
“She’s not physically injured.”
Police will prepare a report for the Coroner.
See Monday’s Journal for the full story.
