Cause of fatal Parramatta unit fire identified

Fire investigators have identified the likely cause of the blaze that claimed the life of an international student at Parramatta. See the footage of the severe damage caused by the inferno.

A faulty or overloaded powerboard caused the fire that ripped through a third-storey unit block at Parramatta and claimed the life of Raunak Chaudhary on July 11.

NSW Fire and Rescue Superintendent Adam Dewberry said investigators were focusing on the equipment, which was found in the lounge room of the Campbell St apartment following the horrific 2.45am blaze.

“A faulty or overloaded powerboard is our probable cause,’’ Supt Dewberry said.

Mr Chaudhary, who is originally from the Indian state of Haryana, was sleeping in the lounge room in the double-concrete walk-up complex when the fire broke out.

The 27 year old lay unconscious while his flatmate, Prince, pleaded for help on the balcony where firefighters pulled him down with a ladder before busting the door open to reach Mr Chaudhary.

They managed to drag him out and perform CPR on the landing of the stairs before he was rushed to Westmead Hospital, where he died shortly before 5am.

Raunak Chaudhary on the balcony of his Campbell St unit where a fire ripped through.

Prince, who was discharged from hospital last Monday, described his friend, who migrated to Australia in 2019 to complete his Masters in Networking, as kind and soft-hearted.

He was distraught when he saw residents from neighbouring properties film him on the balcony instead of calling emergency services for help.

Mr Chaudhary, whose death is before the coroner, was one of 10 people who died from residential fires in NSW this winter, including a woman who succumbed to extensive burns at a unit on Dulwich Hill the same day.

On Saturday, a 62-year-old man died after fire tore through a Bankstown house.

Authorities say most of the deaths could have been prevented if working smoke alarms were used.

Police investigators on the scene after a man died in an apartment fire at 41 Campbell street, Parramatta. Picture: John Appleyard

This week firefighters say it’s by sheer luck six people avoided a tragedy after they were overcome when they brought an outdoor charcoal barbecue into their granny flat at Myall St, Merrylands.

Six people — two children and four adults — were taken to hospital for treatment on Tuesday about 4.45am after bringing the equipment inside.

“Whilst we understand the family and their guests were trying to stay warm during winter and thought bringing the makeshift heating device inside was a good idea, it unwittingly put lives at risk,’’ Fire and Rescue NSW Superintendent Adam Dewberry said.

“Fortunately this has been a tragedy avoided — I’d say by sheer luck. This carbon monoxide is poisonous, toxic, deadly.’’

On Monday, an electrical fault in a remote-controlled car, which was connected to a charger, caused a blaze to engulf a Merrylands townhouse at Bowden St just before 7.30pm.

Fire crews from Yennora and Guildford extinguished the flames, which threatened houses next to the inferno, forcing residents to be evacuated.

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