Deep Creek home destroyed, more fires burn across Northern NSW

One rural fire brigade from a small community has attended two destructive house fires and a blaze at a corn silo within a month.

UPDATE 12.25pm:

It has been an unusually eventful month for the Mallanganee Rural Fire Brigade.

The brigade was among those which attended a house fire on Butlers Road in Deep Creek – a short distance from Mallanganee – early on Sunday morning.

NSW Rural Fire Service Inspector Daniel Ainsworth said when the crew arrived on scene, the home was fully alight.

Insp Ainsworth said the occupants of the Deep Creek home awoke to discover the fire and raised the alarm shortly before 4.30am.

“They awoke to the sound of flames and got out,” he said.

“When Mallanganee (brigade) arrived on scene, the building was fully alight so they went into defensive mode.”

He said they successfully protected other property nearby including a car near the house.

He said most of the firefighting crew left the scene about 7am but some remained to monitor hotspots.

“Police are on scene as part of standard practice,” he said.

“At this stage it’s not being treated as suspicious.”

He said it is suspected the cause was an electrical fault, although investigations are ongoing.

The Mallanganee brigade was met with a similar scene at another devastating house fire in the Mallanganee township earlier in the month and attended the scene where a silo containing corn was alight in August.

Insp Ainsworth said fire crews were also still dealing with an ongoing peat fire on Wondawee Way in Woodburn.

“The landowner was burning off and it got into the swamp three weeks ago,” he said.

Helicopters have meanwhile been used to help contain a blaze in inaccessible, steep country at Homeleigh, in the Kyogle area.

“It’s burning in country that’s very inaccessible,” he said.

“We used helicopters to slow down the spread earlier in the week.”

He said brigades were working with residents to keep properties safe.

He said while homes haven’t been at direct risk there, for communities in the Horseshoe Creek area the fire has looked “quite daunting with the smoke coming toward them”.

“We’ve got a unit up there … 24 hours a day,” he said.

Hazard reductions are also being conducted in parts of the region, Insp Ainsworth said.

Insp Ainsworth reiterated permits are now required for burns and landholders must also let their neighbours know before they light a fire.

“If you want assistance with hazard reductions, just ring the RFS for assistance and we can help you out,” he said.

Firefighters have been kept busy across the Northern Rivers. Picture: Dean Symons.

Earlier:

A home has been destroyed by fire in the Kyogle Shire and firefighters are also tackling and monitoring other blazes across the region.

A NSW Rural Fire Service spokeswoman said crews were called to a fire on Butlers Road in Deep Creek – in the Kyogle Shire – about 4.20am on Sunday.

She said the farmhouse was found “fully alight” when fire crews arrived and has been “a total loss”.

“The crews worked to protect the surrounding assets, surrounding structures, and at this stage it’s contained but … fire investigation will go and take a look at the cause over the coming days,” she said.

“The occupant of the house was spoken to by the crews, there is no indication that there was anyone in the property.”

She said five fire crews attended the scene, including from the Mallanganee, Mummulgum and Tabulam brigades and Fire and Rescue NSW assisted.

While the fire may have been related to a suspected electrical fault, she said the cause of the blaze was “very much under investigation at this stage”.

RFS crews have also this morning been called to the scene of a fire within a compost pile on the Pacific Highway at Bangalow.

The spokeswoman said this involved a large amount of compost of about 40 cubic metres.

“We have two crews on the scene at the moment working to douse that fire,” she said.

She said a 34 hectare fire listed as “under control” by the RFS at Wondawee Way in Woodburn was a private hazard reduction burn that had been ongoing for the past few days.

She said fire crews did assist the landholder to contain the burn on Wednesday and attended to monitor the fire on Saturday.

Further south, crews have been continuing to control a fire which began in the early hours of Tuesday morning on Korora Basin Road in Korora, in the Coffs Harbour area.

The spokeswoman said five RFS crews were called to that fire about 2.30am on Tuesday and it was contained by 5.55am the same day but was still being monitored.