Man arrested after body found after house fire in Croydon, Sydney

Police have released a major update on the investigation into a deadly fire that left an elderly man dead in a Sydney home.

A person has died after house fire in Sydney’s inner west overnight.

A man has been arrested following the death or an elderly man after a house fire in Sydney’s inner west overnight.

The blaze gutted a home on Irrara St in Croydon about 4am on Wednesday, with emergency services arriving on scene to a roaring fire.

Once it was extinguished, the body of an 80-year-old man was found inside.

On Wednesday afternoon, NSW Police released a photo of the 50-year-old man alongside a wide public appeal for help to locate him.

About 7.40pm on Wednesday, the man was arrested by officers attached to Brisbane Water Police District at Woy Woy on the NSW Central Coast.

Police will allege when searched a machete was found concealed in his pants.

A man died in the blaze.

Emergency services were called to a house in Croydon just after 4am.

The 50-year-old man lived at the premises, police said.

The cause of the fire is yet to be determined, however, it is being treated as suspicious.

Burwood Police Area Commander Superintendent Christine McDonald, speaking on Wednesday, said an elderly woman was also assisting police with their inquiries.

“The 50-year-old man the police are looking for, we have concerns for his welfare,” she said.

“He was an occupant at the residence and he was, is, known to police.

“Police believe the 80-old-man, the elderly woman assisting with inquiries and the 50-year-old man are all related.”

Superintendent McDonald said investigators believed the woman was not inside the home at the time the police were called.

“She left previously,” she said.

It was believed the elderly woman left the home about 1am, she added.

Firefighters are struggling to complete their search of the premises as the roof collapsed in the fire. Picture: NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

She said the police did not believe the blaze was “gang related”.

“We are not linking this to any other fire incident – I can say that,” she said.

“It is certainly not gang related. It is really just isolated to this location. In terms of what other incidents may have occurred, we will know that in the fullness of time.”

Superintendent McDonald described the elderly man’s death in the blaze as an “absolute tragedy”.

“We are speaking to people who we know would be devastated by what has happened today,” she said.

The quiet suburban street was littered with firefighting equipment on Wednesday morning. Picture: NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

“It is tragic. We don’t want anyone to pass away in the circumstances, but to live such a full life and pass away like this is an absolute tragedy.”

Fire and Rescue NSW deployed six fire trucks and 22 firefighters to extinguish the blaze but said structural issues hindered search efforts.

“(The) roof has collapsed concealing hot spots and making search difficult,” FRNSW said in a post on X.

Irrara St is in a quiet residential area not far from the train station, with some houses backing on to a nearby reserve, Aden Park.

Police have established a crime scene at the home and are probing the circumstances surrounding the fire under Strike Force Leverier.