Mice plague causes house fire in state’s central west

The Ward family was left with only the clothes on their back after mice chewed through electrical wires sparking a house fire

A heartbroken NSW family has been left homeless after mice chewed through the wiring in their home causing a fire that burnt it to the ground.

The destruction of the Ward family home is the latest casualty in a mice plague that is destroying farms and homes in rural NSW and is sweeping towards Sydney.

“The mice had gone into the roof of the house,” aged care nurse Rebekah Ward said. “They were eating the walls, the wiring in the roof. That is how the police said the fire started.”

Rebekah was driving home to her Gwabegar property in Narrabri Shire in north eastern NSW on Friday when she received a call that the house was on fire. Her immediate thought was for her three sons, John, 12, Charlie, 9, and Oliver, 7.

The boys were fine, standing in the yard in their footy gear, but the house was ablaze. Neighbour Mark Adams rushed over and kicked in the door to save the family Pug, Little Miss, and Lexie the cat.

“By the time I arrived back at our home it was completely on fire,” Ms Ward said. “The policewoman there said that she had seen mice flying out of the roof trying to get away from the flames.”

Rebekah Ward lost everything except the clothes on her back after her home in Gwabegar caught on fire. The fire started after mice ate through wires in the roof.

Rebekah Ward lost everything except the clothes on her back after her home in Gwabegar caught on fire. The fire started after mice ate through wires in the roof. Her three sons were fortunately at football training at the time of the fire.

It is a bitter blow for the Ward family with Rebekah’s cattle farmer husband James only now finding consistent work again after three years of drought.

“The house is rebuildable. But we lost everything else, baby pictures of the kids. All I had left was my work uniform, it was the same with my boys – it is just their footy gear that they were wearing at the time,” Ms Ward said.

The Wards had thought they saw the end of the influx of rodents in March. But a recent cold snap brought the animals back and they made a home in the roof of the house.

The family had stashed clothes in plastic boxes and food in metal tins to protect from the plague of rodents. The boys had taken to sleeping in the same bed after John was bitten by a mouse in his sleep.

The Rural Fire Service is yet to complete its investigation into the cause of the blaze but a spokesman said: “It is definitely possible mice can get into the roof and cause a fire.”

A NSW Police source confirmed it had been started by the mice. “They ate through the wiring in the roof, it must have sparked something before it went up,” he said.

“There will be a further investigation but the whole place is just ash now. Other machinery and property have been destroyed in a similar way.”

Rebekah Ward lost her home in Gwabegar on Friday night from an electrical fire, caused by mice. Her three boys John, 12, Charlie, 9 and Oliver, 7, were all at footy practice at the time luckily and no one was hurt, but they've lost most of their possessions. Picture: David Swift

Farmer Matthew Madden, who owns a property near Moree in the state’s north, lost a tractor to fire after mice chomped through the wiring.

“I had a tractor which was completely chewed through. We went to start it and smoke just billowed out of it,” he said.

“You go into your shed and you’re just hoping that whatever piece of machinery you have started because the mice have just been eating through the wiring - and there is nothing you can do to stop them.”

The three rugby league mad boys were luckily at football practise at the time of the fire Picture: David Swift

Devastatingly for the Ward family, who are now staying with Rebekah’s mother on the Central Coast, the fact that mice caused the fire that destroyed their home means they are not eligible for substantial NSW Government assistance.

“It is still very raw, very fresh. I only found out that we can’t get any major help from the government because it was the mice that destroyed our home,” she said.

“If it was a fire or a flood we would have been able to get some help.”

The NSW Government has established a $50 million support package for those affected by the mouse plague but funding for families is limited to $500 to pay for baiting.

Rebekah Ward lost her home in Gwabegar on Friday night from an electrical fire, caused by mice. Her three boys John, 12, Charlie, 9 and Oliver, 7, were all at footy practice at the time luckily and no one was hurt, but they've lost most of their possessions. Picture: David Swift

Ms Ward’s best friend Zoe Mabey has set up a GoFundMe account asking for donations to help them get back on their feet. “They have lost absolutely everything. Their whole world,” she wrote.

“The main thing - the 5 of them are alive and still here, but literally only have the clothes they have on their back left!!”

The mice plague has cost farmers and people in the NSW bush millions of dollars in lost grain, machinery and buildings. With the colder weather, the mice are now moving south towards Sydney.

A NSW Government funded Mouse Alert map has tracked sightings of the mice with “medium activity” spotted at houses in Erskine Park and Parramatta.