NSW mouse plague sparks house fire in Narrabri Shire

The devastating mouse plague ravaging regional NSW has left a family homeless after the creatures chewed through the wiring in their house.

The devastating mice plague ravaging regional NSW has left one family homeless after the creatures chewed through the wiring in their house, causing a fire which burnt it to the ground.

The total destruction of the Ward family home is the latest casualty in a plague that is destroying farms and homes in rural areas and is now 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.”

Neighbour Mark Adams helped extinguish the flames and rescue the family’s pets.

The family lost everything when the home on Bridges Street, Gwabegar went up in flames.

Mrs Ward was driving home to her property at Gwabegar, near Narrabri, 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,” Mrs Ward said.

“The policewoman there said that she had seen mice flying out of the roof trying to get away from the flames.”

The family Pug, Little Miss, and Lexie the cat were rescued from the blaze.

The aftermath of the fire.

It is the latest blow for the family, with Mrs Ward’s cattle farmer husband James only now finding consistent work after three years of drought.

“The house is rebuildable, but we lost everything else, baby pictures of the kids,’’ she said. “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.’’

The Wards thought they had seen 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 them from the invaders, while the boys had taken to sleeping in the same bed after one of them was bitten by a mouse in his sleep.

Rebekah Ward with her three boys John, 12, Charlie, 9 and Oliver, 7. Picture: David Swift

The boys outside their former home.

The Rural Fire Service is yet to complete its investigation into the official 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 the fire had been started by the mice.

“They ate through the wiring in the roof, it must have sparked something before it went up,” the source 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.”

Farmer Matthew Madden, who owns a property near Moree, lost a tractor in a fire sparked by mice which chomped through the wiring.

“I had a tractor which was completely chewed through,’’ Mr Madden said.

“We went to start it and smoke just billowed out of it.

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

Farmer Matthew Madden’s tractor caught alight after mice chewed through the wiring. Picture: 7 NEWS

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.

Mrs Ward’s best friend Zoe Mabey has set up a GoFundMe account asking for donations for the family.

“They have lost absolutely everything. Their whole world,” she wrote.

And Sydney be warned — the mice are heading this way.

A NSW Government funded Mouse Alert map has tracked sightings of the mice throughout the suburbs, with “medium activity” noted at homes in Erskine Park and Parramatta.