Fire sparked inside Sydney small business by faulty heat gun

A fire broke out inside a Maroubra phone shop after a heat gun malfunctioned and set the store alight.

The fire started on the ground floor of an eight-story building in Maroubra, on Anzac Parade at 6:45am on March 29, inside a mobile phone repair shop. 

Over 100 residents in the apartments above were evacuated as firefighters fought the flames. 

Fire investigators believed that a lithium-ion battery sparked the fire at first, but later discovered that a malfunctioning heat gun caused the blaze.

Fire authorities revealed that a heat gun had been left plugged into a power board overnight.

The fire then started when heat gun’s automatic “kill switch” did not shut the gun down when it overheated, causing the fire.

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The flames were contained and extinguished within an hour, they did not spread to the above apartments or the neighbouring buildings.

Fire authorities said the outcome could have been “much worse” if the fire had spread.

“We’ve had the door in the closed position so it’s kept the fire in this location,” a spokesperson for Fire and Rescue New South Wales said.

“The gentleman (store owner) could have arrived this morning and found that his whole shop was well alight.

“We’ve also got smoke detectors which have activated the fire alarm panel and it’s notified the fire brigade of an impending fire.”