Sydney house fires kill two as footage shows man scream for help

Distressing footage has captured the moment a 20-year-old man was stranded on his balcony, as flames gripped his third-level unit in western Sydney.

Emergency services were called to the Parramatta apartment block at 2.45am on Monday morning.

Footage shared by 7 News showed the harrowing moment the man was stranded on his balcony and crying out for help, while flames threatened to spill outside.

After being rescued by authorities, the 20-year-old man was taken to Westmead Hospital in a stable condition and treated for smoke inhalation.

His room mate - a 27-year-old international student from India - died in hospital after sustaining critical injuries in the blaze, with authorities recording nine fire-related deaths so far this winter across NSW.

Speaking on 2GB’s Drive program, Fire & Rescue NSW Superintendent Adam Dewberry described the rescue as a “magnificent firefighting effort”.

He said fire crews found the distressed 20-year-old man from the balcony, who was “understandably about to jump”.

“We’re talking about a 10m drop there. That would have caused significant injury itself,” he said.

The 27-year-old man – who has yet to be identified – was found in the kitchen area in an unconscious state.

According to the Daily Mail, the deceased man was an international student. The Daily Telegraph also reported that he was an Indian national and worked as an Uber delivery driver.

Authorities have blamed the home’s lack of working fire alarm for the tragic incident, said Fire & Rescue Superintendent Andrew Shurety. Although the remaining units in the block were evacuated, fire crews were able to extinguish the fires.

The circumstances around the incident are still being investigated.

But on Monday morning, Fire & Rescue NSW said it found that no unit in the entire complex had a working smoke alarm. This is despite NSW law which requires all homes to have a working smoke alarm installed on each level of a property.

“There’s a very strong chance they would have been alerted to this fire had there been smoke alarms and they would have got out safely,” Supt Shurety said.

“It’s mind-blowing for me to turn up to a fatal house fire with no smoke alarm in this day and age; it’s frustrating for us.”

Second fatal house fire in Dulwich Hill

On the same day, a woman died in a house fire in Sydney’s inner west suburb of Dulwich Hill.

Fire crews were called to a unit on Denison Rd at around 9.30am, where they found the body of a woman who had succumbed to extensive burns. Neighbours had called triple-0 after noticing smoke coming from the unit block.

Authorities have yet to determine the origin of the blaze.

Supt Dewberry told 2GB that “about nine” people have died due to fire-related injuries this winter, with 34 people sustaining injuries, some of which were “lifelong and very painful”.

“They’re often requiring ongoing surgery or medical treatment,” he said.

Mr Dewberry described the issue as a “massive problem” that Fire & Rescue NSW. He implored residents to have a “modern smoke alarm” that was working and under 10 years old.

“Those working smoke alarms are so important because they give you early notification,” he said.

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“You don’t smell smoke when you’re asleep,” he said, adding that “carbon monoxide in the smoke will kill you before you even know it”.

Mr Dewberry said this was particularly important for renters as well.

“It is the landlord’s responsibility, or the managing agent to make sure you have a working smoke alarm and it is checked regularly,” he said.

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