Man charged with assault as Sydney home goes up in flames
A neighbour has been charged after allegedly assaulting police at the scene of a massive blaze in Sydney's west.
Fire crews were called to a fire at St Marys just after 3am today after a blaze took hold of a weatherboard home.
Firefighters said the flames reached as high as 20 metres and caused the roof to collapse.
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A neighbour has been charged after allegedly assaulting police at the scene of a massive blaze in Sydney's west Nine
"(The fire is) very intense...enormously challenging for our firefighters," NSW Fire and Rescue Inspector Kernin Lambert said.
"The fire was so intense that when the first trucks pulled up the glass windows on the house next door were exploding and it was starting to catch on fire as well.
"It was a very large amount of accumulated fuel, and the fire had taken a very strong hold when we got here, we had a lot of LPG cylinders involved in the fire.
Two people inside, a 66-year-old man and his 40-year-old daughter managed to escape without injury.
Police had to step in to stop the 66-year-old homeowner from going back into the home when a neighbour allegedly assaulted two police officers who were holding the man back.
The 38-year-old man was arrested and taken to St Marys Police Station where he was charged with two counts of assault police and one resisting police charge.
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Two people inside, a 66-year-old man and his 40-year-old daughter managed to escape without injury. Nine
Crews remain on scene to extinguish the blaze.
The cause of the fire is unknown.
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