Brave fire father moves forward

EVERY day is similar for Jeremiah Lale.

The grief-stricken father and husband visits the graves of his wife and five children, who were tragically killed in a house fire in Slacks Creek.

This Friday marks one year since his family members were taken, along with five others.

The fire broke out in the early hours of Wednesday, August 24, 2011 at the Wagensveldt St home.

But the impact was felt not only in the Logan community, but as far as Ipswich and Inala, where some of the victims lived and went to school.

To mark the sombre occasion the Tongan and Samoan communities will come together for a private vigil.

It has undoubtedly been a painful year for the survivors, filled with heartbreak and guilt.

The fire was touted as the worst fatal fire since the Childers backpacker hostel fire in 2000, where three women and eight children perished.

Among the victims were Jeremiah Lale's wife and five children, who had been staying at the Wagensveldt St home with their extended family.

For the past year, Mr Lale has had to live with the unbearable agony that he was unable to save his family. But he has also had to try and piece back together his own life.

Speaking to The Satellite last week Mr Lale said it was an agony that would never go away.

"I wish them to come back alive," Mr Lale said.

"I wish they had gone somewhere and were coming back.

"Every morning and every afternoon I go to the cemetery and tell them how much I miss them.

"I talk to my wife and kids about what I do every day as if they are still alive.

"It is better for me to go and talk to them and release the pain there than sitting here by myself with no-one to talk to."

Speaking from his home in Inala where he has lived for the past eight months, Mr Lale often glanced up at the walls in his lounge room which are filled with pictures of his late wife Neti and their children Jerry, 18, Paul, 17, Lafoa'i, 14, Sela, 10 and Richie, 8.

"My wife, she was the most beautiful lady," he said. "She did everything for me and my kids. Now I have nothing.

"I miss them so much."

Since the day when the remains of his family were brought out of the charred house, Mr Lale said he has nothad the strength to go.

"I never go back down there," Mr Lale said. "Not since the bodies of my wife and children were removed."

Earlier this year, with the help of generous builders and the community, a new house was built on the site for Mr Lale's brother-in-law Tau Taufa, who lost his wife Fusi Taufa, 57, daughter Annamaria Taufa, 23 and grandchildren Lahaina Taufa, 7, Kalahnie Taufa, 3 and Ardelle Lee, 16.