Fire investigators have combed through the charred remains of a Fairy Meadow factory, following a suspicious blaze in the early hours of Wednesday.
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Crews from eight Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) stations were called in to tackle the blaze at a large industrial shed on the Princes Highway.
Emergency services were alerted to the fire at 12.23am, with the first fire trucks on scene within seven minutes.
“They then straight away, due to the size of it, called for six pumps,” FRNSW Inspector John Hawes said.
Crews battled the blaze for about 90 minutes and prevented its spread to neighbouring buildings.
The fire fight wasn’t without its hazards, largely due to the shed’s iron and timber construction.
“Once the timber inside all burned, plus with the wind that was blowing, there was potential for it to fall down in any which way, so they [firefighters] created an exclusion zone around it,” Inspector Hawes said.
“Even though it looked like it was a factory shed, they weren’t sure if there were any people in it because squatters can be known to take up refuge anywhere on cold evening.”
No one was found inside. The shed was destroyed.
FRNSW investigators were at the scene on Wednesday morning and the incident has been handed over to the police.
“It’s believed there were some fuel drums found within the premise, so it is being deemed as a suspicious fire,” he said.
Meanwhile, two people were taken to hospital after a laundry fire at a Kanahooka home on Wednesday morning.
FRNSW crews from Unanderra and Dapto responded to the fire, which left the laundry charred and caused smoke damage throughout the house, about 4.50am.
A woman was treated by paramedics for minor smoke inhalation.
Two people were transported by ambulance to hospital for treatment, Inspector Hawes said.