Sydney family trapped on balcony rescued after fire

Residents were sent scrambling when firefighters evacuated a Sydney apartment building after an e-scooter caught alight.

A family-of-three were forced to flee onto the balcony of their apartment after an e-scooter caught alight.

NSW Fire and Rescue were called to the apartment building on Marine Dr in Chiswick, Sydney about 4.30am on Thursday after reports of a fire.

The two adults and one child were alerted to the blaze inside the laundry by a smoke alarm, but were stopped from leaving by toxic smoke.

The trio took shelter on the apartment balcony until firefighters entered the apartment and were able to extinguish the blaze.

The scooter, which overheated while charging, was placed into a large bin full of water to stop the batter from reigniting.

As a precaution, firefighters evacuated more than 40 residents from the building while the fire was being extinguished.

A family-of-three were forced to flee onto the balcony of their Sydney apartment after an e-scooter caught alight, trapping them inside. Picture: FRNSW

FRNSW Superintendent Adam Dewberry said the blaze was the second fire in as many days where a working smoke alarm alerted residents.

“In both incidents the occupants have been able to evacuate to safety without injury,” Mr Dewberry.

“Working smoke alarms provided these occupants with an early notification of the fire, enabling them to move to safety in time.

“Fires produce large volumes of deadly and toxic smoke, and it is this smoke that usually kills people in home fires”.

The blaze comes after a string of high-profile fires caused by lithium ion batteries, including in e-scooters.

A Current Affair reported that as many as 450 fires has been linked to the batteries in the past 18 months.

NSW Fire and Rescue were called to the building on Marine Dr in Chiswick about 4.30am on Thursday after reports of a fire. Picture: Glenn Campbell

Mother-of-two Fran Higgins told A Current Affair she lost nearly everything she owned because of an e-bike.

The bike, purchased for her teenage son on Facebook Marketplace, caught fire while charging.

In February, residents of an apartment building in Sydney’s southwest were forced to evacuate when an e-scooter caught alight.

FRNSW specialist fire investigators will continue to investigate the cause of Thursday’s blaze.