Padstow childcare centre’s ‘devastating’ fire being treated as suspicious
Charles Huong, the owner and operator of the Padstow childcare centre gutted by fire, says his life is destroyed too, as police confirm it is “suspicious”.
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The owner of the Padstow childcare centre gutted in a fire this week says its devastation has “destroyed” his life and impacted the lives of attending families.
Bankstown Police Acting Inspector Peter Campton told the Express, “we are treating the fire as suspicious and we have established a crime scene”.
Charles Huong, the operator and owner of Kim’s Kindy, said he was alerted to the fire about 9pm on Wednesday but by the time he rushed there, the single storey building was ablaze.
No one was hurt in the blaze with Bankstown Police working with Fire and Rescue NSW investigators to determine the cause of the fire.
“My life has been destroyed,” Mr Huong told the Express.
“This is very upsetting and we now have to find a temporary centre for the children.
“The parents of the children are also shocked and upset.
“It’s very inconvenient for them.
“We have been running this centre since 2002 and we never had any issues before.
“I really don’t know what happened and we are leaving it to the police to find out the cause.”
The cause for the fire is not known but police are requesting for anyone with information about suspicious activity in the area before 9pm to contact them. It is not suggested Mr Huong was involved in the fire.
Three Fire and Rescue NSW crews raced to extinguish the blaze at Kim’s Kindy, around 9.08pm, after receiving a call four minutes earlier.
Crews from Revesby, Riverwood and Bankstown fought the blaze.
“The roof was on fire when the crews arrived and they went into a defensive mode to protect the neighbouring buildings,” a Fire and Rescue NSW spokeswoman said.
“The fire was put out by 9.45pm and our investigators are now supporting the police in their investigations.”
Bankstown Police officers spoke with several witnesses at the location and did several door knocks.
Police have commenced an investigation into the incident and have appealed for anyone with information about suspicious or illegal activity in the area prior to 9pm to come forward.
Anyone with information or dashcam footage relating to this incident should contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or nsw.crimestoppers.com.au.
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