Family loses everything in Sydney house fire thought to have been started by charging scooter

Warnings about lithium batteries are being repeated as a Sydney family assesses the ruins of their home which has been gutted by an inferno likely sparked by a rechargeable scooter.

Fire alarms sounded and crews put in a mighty effort but even that wasn't enough to stop the house in Austral, in the city's south-west, burning down.

Khaled Ghamrawi's brother Harry raced out of the burning home next door after being roused by a smoke alarm.

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"The fire just got so extreme so quick it was unbelievable," Khaled said.

Harry escaped unhurt and fortunately, his wife and children were away for the night.

But his home and his business repairing high-performance vehicles have been ravaged by the flames.

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"There's a couple there owned by customers so they're going to get get a shock when they realise their cars have burned down," Khaled said.

There's a strong suspicion the cause was a lithium-ion battery charging in the garage.

It's one of almost 300 battery-related incidents reported by Fire and Rescue New South Wales this year.

"I don't understand, it doesn't trip the fuse box, they just catch on fire and you can't put them out," Khaled. 

It took five hours of intense firefighting to put the blaze out, and the family has lost everything.