Residents of an isolated, alternate-lifestyle commune where twin four-year-old girls died are 'like family' and were holding a bonfire party nearby when tragedy struck, police believe.
About 4am on Sunday, the girls' father and his girlfriend popped their heads into the home, situated among about 19 other properties within the 100 acre commune in the Byron Bay hinterland.
The kids were sleeping together in a bedroom within close proximity to a piano. Sitting on the piano was a lit candle which sparked a blaze, police said.
Both girls were unresponsive and suffering from smoke inhalation, and their father's girlfriend made a harrowing call to triple-zero begging for help.
Residents who choose to live off-grid at the Nunkeri Multi Occupancy commune consider each other family, and were enjoying a collective bonfire well into the early hours of Sunday morning when tragedy struck
A member of the public reacts while holding a bouquet of flowers outside the home where twin four-year-old girls died following a house fire
The girls were sleeping together in a bedroom within close proximity to a piano. Sitting on the piano, police believe, was a lit candle which caused the fire
'Hurry, the babies can't breathe,' she told the operator on the end of the line. Paramedics arrived shortly after, but neither little girl could be revived.
The twins were visiting their father at the commune for the weekend. It's not yet clear how much time they spent in the isolated alternative living camp.
Aerial footage of the remote bush property shows several dwellings scattered among the trees.
There are no driveways, no fences to separate one home from the next. Cars park haphazardly wherever their drivers can find space.
The community relies on a water tank on the centre of the land and it's understood they pool resources wherever possible.
'They're like a family,' one local told Daily Mail Australia. 'They're all grieving so much right now.'
The 20-home commune has existed for 30 years and sits on 100 acres of farmland just 30 minutes' drive from Byron Bay
