NSW: Sydney family home gutted on Christmas Day

AAP General News (Australia)
12-25-2009
NSW: Sydney family home gutted on Christmas Day

Eds: Adds comments from police in 7th par.



SYDNEY, Dec 25 AAP - A Sydney family watched in horror as their home burnt to the ground
on Christmas Day, leaving them with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

The Lamrock Avenue home in Glossodia, in Sydney's outer northwest, was completely gutted
by 1.30pm (AEDT) on Friday, despite an hour-long firefighting effort to contain the blaze,
the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) said.

It's believed the family was alerted to the fire by a friend who rang to say the house
was up in flames.

"The owners weren't home at the time, but they did arrive when fire crews were there
- they came home to find firefighters in their front yard," RFS spokesman Anthony Clark
told AAP.

"You don't want to lose your home, but especially not on Christmas Day ... it was totally
destroyed."

A family member told the Seven Network they believed the fire had been lit deliberately,
and a pile of burnt paper was found in the room where the fire started, according to the
report.

But police said it was unclear if the fire was suspicious, and the only person of interest
had been ruled out.

"We don't know if it was deliberately lit or started by an electrical fault," Acting
Inspector Cole Williams told AAP.

"Due to the house being destroyed and the rain, there is no way of determining the
cause ... there is no evidence."

The NSW Fire Brigade and police are investigating.

AAP bzs/

KEYWORD: FLAMES UPDATE

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