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A mother whose five sons and the boys' father were killed in a house fire on Russell Island has offered her thanks to the community.
Friends of Samantha Stephenson told 9News she was overwhelmed by grief but was grateful for the community's outpouring of love and support.
Wayne Godinet and his five sons – Zac, 11, Harry, 10, four-year-old twins Kyza and Koah, and Nicky, three – died early on Sunday morning.
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Residents who escaped the deadly blaze say they're taking it "step by step" and today Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk visited the community.
The fire spread to two other houses on Todman Street on the island, which is just off the mainland south-east of Brisbane.
One of those was the home of Lucia Teague and Sei Sinclaire, who fled.
Teague told Today she had been woken by her uncle and looked down the hall to see a "big wall of flames".
"Then we all just tried to, at first, put out the fire that was catching on to our balcony," she said.
"When we realised that was useless, we grabbed everything we could – the animals, ourselves, anything in reach, and basically tried just to get out of the house."
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Sinclaire said he had seen the house behind theirs, where Godinet and the children had died, "completely engulfed in flame".
"The heat, even from the other end of the house, you could feel it on your face, and it was just terrible," he said.
Neighbours rushed to help them as they fled the burning home.
"One man even jumped our fence with his hose to try to help fight back the flames," Teague said.
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She was injured falling down the stairs during the escape. The house, meanwhile, was gutted.
"We honestly have no clue what we're going to do," Teague said.
"I was in denial the first day because from the front end of our house, everything looks normal, it's only that you look at the back that you realise the house has pretty much been destroyed.
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"I just remember thinking the entire time I was in hospital, like, I just want to go home. And then realising I can't."
Meanwhile, the memorial outside the local school is growing, with Palaszczuk adding her name to the condolence book today.
"From the moment we arrived at the jetty as well you could see how much the community is hurting," she said.
"It's going to take a while to get over because it's a small school and everyone knows everyone. I mean you only have to read the messages there, they all know each other."
Police continue to investigate the fire, with the disaster victim identification squad moving in.
They have not yet determined if the fire is suspicious, but said some aspects of the incident require closer scrutiny.
"Everything should be treated as suspiciously until we know otherwise, but we should also keep a very open mind, so we will continue to investigate this," Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said.
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