Firefighters battle huge blaze in Hunter Region for hours, multiple houses destroyed

Firefighters battled for hours to bring a blaze in NSW’s Hunter Valley under control but could not save multiple houses, with three ‘well alight’ when they arrived.

Multiple houses burnt down in the Hunter Valley overnight as dozens of firefighters battled for hours to bring the suspicious blaze under control.

Emergency services responded at about 10.20pm to several triple-0 calls reporting a house fire on Morpeth Rd in Morpeth.

Police say the cause of the fire was suspicious. Picture: Supplied by Fire and Rescue NSW.

When firefighters arrived, they found find three buildings well alight, with smoke billowing from the properties.

Fire and Rescue NSW said about 50 firefighters worked to extinguish the fire and it took several hours to bring it under control.

Three of the houses were well alight when firefighters arrived. Picture: Supplied by Fire and Rescue NSW.

FRNSW initially said five buildings were completely destroyed, then later clarified three had been razed and a further two were severely damaged.

NSW Police, however, said two buildings were destroyed, while another was badly damaged.

“At this stage the cause of the fire is unknown; however, it is being treated as suspicious,” police said.

All five buildings were unoccupied.

All five houses were unoccupied. Picture: Supplied by Fire and Rescue NSW.