A ferocious and suspicious fire has destroyed a two-storey family home in Sydney’s south-west, less than 36 hours after police raided the property.
Fire crews rushed to the recently renovated Padstow Heights house just before 7.30pm on Saturday, finding it engulfed in a large blaze.
Neighbours told 9News they heard two large explosions not long before flames began to rip through the home.
The owners weren’t home when the fire started, but they returned as crew from six fire engines were fighting the blaze.
The owner, a father-of-two, tried to rush inside but was stopped by firefighters who dragged him back.
Instead, he watched the fire incinerate his home while standing alongside his wife and kids.
Police confirmed to 9News they raided the home as part of an ongoing investigation and had seized laptops and phones.
Fire and Rescue NSW Superintendent Daron Lesslie noted the ferocity of the inferno.
“The fire was very intense,” he said.
Crews worked for two hours to extinguish the flames and did “a great job” protecting neighbouring houses, he said.
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Witness Les McIntosh was also in awe of the fire.
“Flames were licking way above the trees, and as you can see the house is way down in the valley,” he said.
“So that must have been some fire.”
Investigations into the cause of the fire are still under way but it is being treated as suspicious.
It’s understood the fire began on the lower floor.
A forensic unit returned to the charred home today, assisted by fire investigators and an accelerant-detection dog.
Detectives are now examining evidence including security footage to determine how and why the home and everything inside was incinerated.
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