A mother killed in a house fire has been remembered for her dedication and devotion to her two children.
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Naomie Richings, 33, died on Saturday, June 3 when her home in Glenroi, NSW went up in flames just before 6am. Her husband, James Richings, and their two children were taken to Orange Hospital that morning.
Mrs Richings' brother-in-law, Daniel Richings, said while the kids - aged 9 and 10 - were still in hospital as of June 6, they had left intensive care."Everyone's improving which is really good," he said.
He described his sister-in-law as "one of the kindest people you'd meet".
"She was always happy, always upbeat, having a laugh and playing with those kids," Mr Richings added.
"When I was looking back through stuff on my phone, there's the photos and videos she used to send and it's of them playing dress-ups, reading stories and playing games with the kids. That was pretty much Naomie."
In wake of the fire which also destroyed the family home, Mr Richings set up a GoFundMe page for his brother and nephews. In the span of two days, more than $7000 had been raised, an amount which came as a bit of a shock to the family.
"There was that double-edged sword of setting it up. What if you set it up and nobody cares," he said.
"We've just been trying our hardest to support James and the two boys because it's not going to get easier any time soon."
He said his brother's long-term plan was to remain in Orange, a point driven home by the "amazing" support shown by the children's school.
"We've had a constant stream of teachers, the principal, they're stopping in to see how the kids are going and bringing them their favourite food," Mr Richings added.
To donate towards the family's GoFundMe page, you can either follow this link or search 'family left to rebuild after fatal house fire' on Gofundme.com
An investigation has been launched into the cause of the fire.
Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report information via NSW Police social media pages.
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