A bar heater keeping more than a dozen puppies warm inside a laundry was the likely cause of a fire that ripped through a Warrawong townhouse on Tuesday, authorities say.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A woman reportedly jumped from a second-storey window to escape the burning Nyan Way home, while a man suffered second-degree burns to his arms and upper torso.
Two teenage children escaped unharmed.
Emergency services were called to the townhouse about 10.15am after a neighbour spotted black smoke coming from a ground floor window of the property.
The neighbour alerted the family of four inside the home - a 46-year-old man, 51-year-old woman and two children, aged 14 and 12.
The Mercury understands there were 17 puppies inside, one of which was pulled from the charred townhouse by firefighters and treated with oxygen in the back of an ambulance.
NSW Ambulance Inspector Matt Sterling said the pup “appeared parched” and was given a drink by paramedics.
The other puppies are understood to have perished in the fire.
An older dog was also rescued by firefighters, while a cat and a number of chickens escaped unharmed.
The man and woman were taken to Wollongong Hospital in a stable condition. The two children didn’t require treatment.
The house was well alight when Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews arrived. Initial investigations suggest the fire began on the ground floor and quickly spread throughout the house.
Sergeant Jason Harrison, from Lake Illawarra police, said fire investigators had determined the fire began in the laundry, where “some puppies were being warmed by a bar heater”.
“At this stage, it does appear this has been the cause, through some blankets ... coming too close to the bar heater,” Sergeant Harrison said.
Firefighters worked quickly to tackle the fire, which also threatened a neighbouring townhouse on Griffin Street.
The adjoining property sustained smoke damage.
FRNSW Warrawong station officer Jason Harvey said the fire was a “devastating” reminder for parents to be vigilant, adding firefighters attended “a lot of fires during the school holidays”.
“We ask you give your children great supervision during this time and be vigilant that children can be left unattended and fires can start very quickly because of these reasons,” Mr Harvey said.
