Family loses everything as large fire destroys house

A family of four were left "devastated" after their home was destroyed in a powerful fire south of Wollongong overnight.

Emergency services were called to Helen Street in Warilla at about 9pm on Sunday evening and found a single-storey home well alight.

Two parents and two children inside self-evacuated, and the woman was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics for a minor burn to her arm. No-one was taken to hospital.

Fire and Rescue Shellharbour Station Commander Darin Sullivan said the home was completely destroyed in the fire which appeared to have started on the property's front verandah.

"It does show how quickly that can spread. It's gone literally from a piece of furniture on the balcony up into the roof of the house and then right through the house," he said.

"Within six minutes it took hold of the whole house."

He said it was a complex fire for crews to battle.

"We had a fair bit going on and some challenges for us when we first got there," he said.

"The residence was well alight, quite spectacularly so, and we had homes neighbouring that were under threat."

Three local units arrived on the scene to find fallen powerlines sparking and a gas cylinder on fire at the side of the house.

"The power lines were on the metal fence and sparking away so the entire front fence line was electrified for the first 15 minutes or so," Commander Sullivan said.

"We also had a LPG gas cylinder that was alight.

"Once it lit up it vented and went off like a bit of a rocket there for about 10 minutes."

With assistance from nearby fire stations, crews spent one hour bringing the fire under control and almost three more fully extinguishing the blaze.

Commander Sullivan said Fire and Rescue NSW crews will continue working to determine how the fire started, but it does not appear to be deliberate or suspicious.

"Unfortunately, the family lost everything in the house so it was pretty sad for them," he said, describing the fire as a "catastrophe".

Community support

The local community has rallied behind the impacted family since news of the fire spread.

An online fundraiser was set up by the home owner's brother Jesse Thompson and had raised several thousand dollars in the space of a few hours.

Mr Thompson wrote the family were "devastated" by the fire.

"While we are incredibly grateful that no lives were lost, they have been left with nothing but the clothes they escaped in," he wrote.

"Years of hard work, memories, family keepsakes including family ashes, furniture, clothing, children's toys, appliances, school supplies and all of life's everyday necessities have been lost.

"Everything they had worked so hard to build for their family has been reduced to ashes."

Local pubs, including the Warilla Hotel and the Lake Illawarra Hotel, have also started donation drives asking for items like clothing, books, toys and school supplies to help the family rebuild.

Winter reminder

Commander Sullivan said while the cause of the fire is still being assessed it was a timely reminder to the community to check smoke alarms and be vigilant.

"With winter coming on we're definitely at that time of year where we are reminding all residents to just be aware of heaters, that type of thing," he said.

"We're [also] hypervigilant at the moment with battery fires and e-bike fires, and things like that."

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