News

Block ‘uninhabitable’ after blaze

RESIDENTS from a three-storey unit block in Lidcombe, found themselves out in the cold on Saturday afternoon after a fire broke out in the basement car park.

Emergency services were called to the unit block on Childs Street at 1.17pm and police and firefighters evacuated residents from 54 units.
Thick smoke hampered initial attempts to determine the cause of the fire and a spokesperson for Fire and Rescue NSW, said firefighters initially thought that a car was alight before determining it was actually “miscellaneous material in a storage cage”.
He said they safely removed an acetylene cylinder and a number of paint tins and were able to extinguish the fire and finish venting most of the smoke by 5pm.
“Firefighters also checked the building to ensure no occupants were left inside,” he said.
Unfortunately for residents while the fire was contained, the blaze damaged plastic plumbing pipes, including sewage and water pipes, making the unit block uninhabitable for at least a week.
With the site declared off-limits, residents were allowed back in briefly to collect some of their belongings and officers from Auburn Police Area Command organised emergency accomodation for those in need, however one witness said some people slept in their cars overnight.
No injuries were reported and fire investigators returned to the scene on Monday to continue work to determine the cause and origin of the fire.