Residents escape fire but are left homeless in Sydney's south-west

A massive fire at an over-55s apartment village in Sydney's south-west was so intense it caused the roof to collapse and had firefighters searching for two residents of a unit where the fire was believed to have begun.

Luckily the residents were not at home when the blaze broke out in their second storey apartment and 30 others, including some elderly and disabled people, were evacuated safely by emergency services.

There was a possibility that two residents were trapped by rubble and debris on the top floor that firefighters said was covered in debris at hip height.

The fire started at the back of the housing commission block in Bass Hill, a few kilometres west of Bankstown, just before midday and stretched across the entire top floor with seven of the 14 units destroyed, leaving elderly residents homeless on Christmas Eve.

An apartment complex in Bass Hill has caught fire and the roof has collapsed.Credit: Nine

Traffic on the Hume Highway was heavily affected as Kawana Street and Adeline Street were closed as emergency services worked for hours to quell the blaze.

Up to 50 firefighters attended and NSW Police also evacuated a number of nearby properties.

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