Children escape without injury after Warilla home goes up in flames
Four children have managed to escape injury after their family home in the Illawarra was engulfed by fire on Sunday afternoon.
Illawarra Star
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A Warilla family has lost everything, after their home was destroyed in a fire on Sunday afternoon.
A 17-year-old girl was looking after her three siblings at the Spofforth Street home around 5pm on October 20, when she heard a smoke alarm sounding in the hallway.
The four children raced to a bedroom at the back of the fibro home, where they found a mattress well alight.
The blaze quickly took hold of the property, with neighbours saying fire had engulfed the home in just a few minutes.
Hayley, who lives next door to the family, said when she arrived home yesterday evening, several Fire and Rescue crews were battling against the blaze.
“They were really lucky [to get out],” she said. “It went up so quickly.”
The mother-of-four said she was devastated for the family, who had been living at the property for less than a year.
“They are lucky they got out in time and weren’t hurt, everything else is replaceable,” she said.
“I made sure the children were okay, but they were very distressed and a bit worried because their mum wasn’t home.”
While the fire was extinguished in under an hour, everything was destroyed, with the children escaping with just the clothes on their backs.
As the home was built with asbestos, crews arrived at the property early on Monday morning to begin clean-up and remediation works.
After hearing the news of fire, members of the Warilla community have started collecting donations for the family.
They are currently collecting clothes, shoes, toddlers toys and books. If you’d like to donate, goods can be delivered to 18 Spofforth Street during business hours, or 19 Spofforth Street after business hours.
While the cause of the fire is not yet known, a Fire and Rescue NSW spokesman confirmed the scene was now in the hands of Lake Illawarra police.
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