Father describes anguish as elder son dies after he ran into a fire to save both his boys

'My little mate, he was my best friend,' says Nathan Perry. 'He was everything to me. I'm heartbroken'

Tom Embury-Dennis
Saturday 18 November 2017 16:24 GMT
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Nathan Perry suffered burns to his face, arms and legs during the fire
Nathan Perry suffered burns to his face, arms and legs during the fire

A father who ran through flames to rescue his two young sons said the "world will never be the same again" after his eldest boy's life support machine was turned off.

Nathan Perry, 24, was asleep at home in Weranga, a town in Queensland, Australia, when he woke to find smoke filling his house and his sons' room on fire, earlier this week.

Jeremy, three, and Blake, four, were pulled to safety by their father, who suffered burns to his face, legs and arms after he dived into the blaze.

But despite doctors' best efforts, they were unable to save Blake and the decision was taken to turn off his life support machine.

I knew it was a fire straight away," Mr Perry told Nine News. "I guess I made a mistake by opening the door and letting the air in and that's when it went berserk.

“I had to run through the flames and drag the children out. I did what I could. I feel like I failed with Blake because he didn't make it.”

Jeremy, 3, and Blake, 4, were pulled to safety by their father

He added: "It was the scariest thing I have ever seen in my life. I don't even want to think about it. It's going to haunt me forever."

“My little mate, he was my best friend. He was everything to me. I'm heartbroken. The world is never going to be the same again.”

Tamika Frid, the children's mother, also spoke about the ordeal

Tamika Frid, the children’s mother, told the news channel: “I wish everything was just a dream and we can just wake up and everything can be just better again.”

She added: “Always tell your kids you love them and give them as many hugs as you can because you don't know what will happen the next day.”

Jeremy has suffered 90 per cent burns to his body and is fighting for his life in hospital in an induced coma.

Investigations are underway to determine what triggered the fire.

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