BRISBANE, Australia, Dec. 26 (UPI) -- Officials are investigating the cause of a home fire that killed the wife and three children of Australian celebrity chef Matt Golinski, also badly burned.
Golinski, 39, a restaurateur and host of "Ready, Steady, Cook," was fighting for his life in a Brisbane hospital after an early-morning blaze engulfed his home on the Sunshine Coast, the Australian Broadcasting Corp., reported Monday.
Investigators are trying to determine what set off the 3:30 a.m. Monday explosion and fire that killed Golinski's wife, Rachael, their 12-year-old twin daughters, Sage and Willow, who suffered from a disability similar to cerebral palsy which affected their mobility, and their youngest daughter Starlia, 10.
Neighbor Gary Siljac spotted Golinski outside his burning house and carried him to safety, with the help of other neighbors. "He was scorched from top to bottom," Siljac said. "There were absolutely horrific noises, screams, coming out of the house. Then he was screaming, first for his family, and then because pain became a factor."
Queensland emergency services were called about the fire about 3.30 a.m. with first fire trucks on the scene about 10 minutes later. The first ambulance arrived at about 3.59 a.m. The Australian reported.
Siljac said it felt like an "eternity" before an ambulance arrived.
An unnamed Queensland Ambulance Service spokeswoman there were "high operational volumes at the time" and three other units were needed elsewhere.
"The QAS is mindful that the details of this tragic case will be subject to a coronial [coroner's] inquest," the spokeswoman said of the delay.
Golinski was in critical but stable condition at Royal Brisbane hospital, The Australian said.
