A young woman whose three sisters and stepmother died in a horror house fire was forced to tell her father he’d ‘lost everything’ when he woke from a coma.
Shana Kikuchi ‘will never forget’ the moment she broke the news to Hiroyuki Kikuchi, 50, that his wife Kaoru and three youngest daughters, Ako, Uta and Enna were dead.
A fast-moving blaze tore through their Glen Waverley home in southeast Melbourne in the early hours of January 10.
Mr Kikuchi managed to escape the house with severe burns and was taken to hospital in an induced coma, where he remained for five days.
It wasn’t until Friday that detectives were finally able to speak with the father about the ‘suspicious’ fire.
Shana Kikuchi will ‘never forget’ the moment she broke the news to Hiroyuki Kikuchi, 50, that his wife Kaoru and three youngest daughters, Ako, Uta and Enna were dead
Pictured: Mr Kikuchi with his wife, Kaoru and their three girls, Enna (in her mother’s arms), Uta (left) and Ako (right)
Neighbours have described seeing the family return home in the hours before the tragedy
Shana, who is Mr Kikuchi’s daughter from a previous relationship, has paid tribute to her little sisters and step mum after their tragic deaths.
She said Kaoru was ‘born to be a mother’ and had become a great friend in the time that she’d known her.
Kaoru shielded her three girls from the blaze as it tore through the family home, and Victoria Police Detective Senior Sergeant Neville Major said their bodies were found huddled together in the debris of the bathroom.
Shana said each of her sisters had developed their own unique personalities, with ‘the littlest [Enna], having the biggest personality’.
‘She was so loud all the time, singing and talking gibberish,’ Shana recalled.
Shana, who is Mr Kikuchi’s daughter from a previous relationship, has paid tribute to her little sisters and step mum after their tragic deaths
Kaoru shielded her three girls from the blaze as it tore through the family home, and Victoria Police Detective Senior Sergeant Neville Major said their bodies were found huddled together in the debris of the bathroom
Mourners left flowers near the scene of the fatal house fire in Glen Waverley, Melbourne’s southeast
She said the three-year-old would often draw all over her body, and then would set her sights ‘on the wall or the couch; courtesy of collaborative work by Uta and Enna’.
‘She just made everyone laugh,’ she said.
Uta, who was five and the middle child, was the ‘cheekiest’ out of the trio.
‘She would steal lollies when she wasn’t allowed, say cheeky things, make funny drawings of dad,’ Shana said.
Of all the girls, Uta loved to play games the most and was particularly close with Shana’s brother.
Ako, meanwhile, took her role as the ‘big sister’ extremely seriously and did her best to ‘always look after her sisters’.
The eight-year-old was ‘the sweetest, most caring girl, with the biggest heart I know,’ Shana said.
Uta, who was five and the middle child, was the ‘cheekiest’ out of the trio. ‘She would steal lollies when she wasn’t allowed, say cheeky things, make funny drawings of dad,’ Shana said
Of all the girls, Uta loved to play games the most and was particularly close with Shana’s brother
A message left by a mourner near where the three girls died with their mother in the fatal house fire
She had a passion for playing the piano, loved to hula dance and studied hard to ‘make her parents proud’.
Shana explained that her father was injured in the mysterious blaze – which remains under investigation – as he tried to save his family.
He was sedated and taken to hospital, but woke several days later to the news that Kaoru and the girls had all perished.
‘The moment I had to tell him the news of his family’s passing was truly horrible,’ Shana recalled.
‘It’s one I won’t ever forget. My dad lost everything; his beloved children, his wife, their two cats Nixon and Tsuppy, their home and everything in it.’
In the wake of their deaths, Shana has set up a GoFundMe page to cover the costs of Kaoru, Ako, Uta and Enna’s funerals
Mr Kikuchi lost his business in 2020 as a result of the Covid crisis and nationwide lockdowns. Shana explained that the financial hardship on top of his personal loss was all too much to bear
Kaoru Okano (pictured with one of her daughters) had tried to take cover from the blaze in the home’s en suite bathroom as the property became engulfed in smoke
Mr Kikuchi lost his business in 2020 as a result of the Covid crisis and nationwide lockdown. Shana explained that the financial hardship on top of his personal loss was all too much to bear.
In the wake of their deaths, Shana has set up a GoFundMe page to cover the costs of Kaoru, Ako, Uta and Enna’s funerals.
She is also hoping to raise enough money to cover travel expenses for Kaoru’s parents and brother to fly to Australia for the services from Japan.
Given the Covid pandemic, her family will need to secure hard-to-come-by flights and then quarantine in a hotel at their own expense upon arrival.
Any additional money again will go toward putting a roof over her father’s head.
The fundraiser has already surpassed $80,000, with a goal of reaching $150,000.
No charges have been laid in relation to the fire and an investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with further information on the Glen Waverley blaze is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Shana has set up a fundraiser to cover funeral costs and provide for her father after he ‘lost everything’
She has paid tribute to her step mum and three little sisters after their tragic deaths
Pictured: The backyard of the house where four perished in a tragic fire on Sunday, January 10
