A man with a lengthy criminal history, accused of leaving three children aged under five home alone and hearing their screams as fire engulfed the property, will be freed on bail.

Matthew Mcauliffe, 24, is the second person to be released on bail over the 2024 blaze in Melbourne’s north-west.

The children’s mother, Shania Lee, was freed less than a month ago.

Two young girls, aged one and five, died in the fire. A third child suffered serious injuries.

Mcauliffe and Lee had left the Sydenham home minutes before a smoke alarm sounded.

Police allege they heard the children scream via security video on Lee’s phone.

Mcauliffe applied for bail at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday, charged with two counts of negligent manslaughter and one count of negligently causing serious injury.

He is not the biological father of any of the child victims, but had been in a relationship with Lee for two months and was living with her at the time, the court was told.

Prosecutors asked for Mcauliffe’s release to be denied as he was a risk of offending while on bail, failing to appear in court, interfering with witnesses and obstructing the course of justice.

Arson and explosive squad Detective Senior Constable Chris Mitchell said Mcauliffe had previously been accused of more than 400 criminal charges, faced 101 warrants and held 32 prior convictions.

He said the September 8, 2024, fire came just 66 days after Mcauliffe was released from prison.

Prosecutor Emily Sheales said Mcauliffe’s lengthy criminal history put him in “a very different category” to his co-accused, Lee, who was bailed on September 17.

This includes 23 prior convictions or findings of guilty for committing offences while on bail, 12 for breaching bail conditions, and a history of violent and dishonest offending.

“That significant and lengthy history … sets him apart from his co-accused,” she said.

Defence barrister Sai Ranjit said Mcauliffe would stay at his mother’s home in Maryborough, more than two hours’ drive from Melbourne, and bail conditions could ameliorate any alleged risk.

Mcauliffe’s mother Melissa said she hoped to provide a stable home for her son, who had “been through a lot”.

She promised to report him to police if he re-offended, breached bail conditions or consumed drugs or alcohol while living with her and her father, whom she takes care of full-time.

Ranjit said police arrested Mcauliffe on September 11, the day he left prison for separate offences after being arrested in January.

This meant Mcauliffe had not been able to begin a treatment as part of community corrections order.

He pointed to weaknesses in the strength of the prosecution case. It cannot yet prove how the fire was started and accuses Mcauliffe of negligent child homicide for leaving the children home unattended.

Ranjit further said the case faced delays, with the next hearing not until January 15, and further delays in police gathering the evidence needed for a committal to trial.

Police allege they heard Mcauliffe and Lee discussing over prison phone calls how they had viewed footage on Lee’s mobile phone of the children and heard their screams, but did not call triple zero.

Mitchell said was applying for material from Apple in the US to get information on the apps Lee opened on her phone, to corroborate what was said in the calls.

He said an arson chemist had found the “most likely” cause of the fire was combustible material from a match or cigarette lighter in the main bedroom.

Magistrate Phillip Goldberg decided to release Mcauliffe on bail as he could impose “very restrictive” conditions to reduce his risk.

Mcauliffe was to leave Melbourne Assessment Prison on Tuesday night, to live with his mother in Maryborough. He cannot leave Victoria and has a curfew.

-AAP