Suspected cause of fire that killed Sydney mother identified
A mother has died and her daughter has been hospitalised after a suspected cooking accident in Sydney’s west overnight.
Emergency services rushed to the home at Villawood, about 20 kilometres west of the CBD, just after 6pm on Wednesday where the property was found well alight.
Fire crews responded in less than 10 minutes after receiving reports that the home was alight. Supplied
Fire crews arrived within nine minutes of the call and extinguished the blaze, helping the mother and daughter evacuate from the Tuncoee Road home.
Fire and Rescue Superintendent Peter Murray said the home was “heavily smoke-logged” by the time emergency services arrived, which created major visibility concerns.
He added that firefighters needing breathing apparatus and thermal imaging to find and pull the mother and daughter from the burning home.
The 78-year-old mother was treated for smoke inhalation and taken to Liverpool Hospital in a critical condition before she died a short time later.
Emergency services rushed to a home in Tuncoee Road, Villawood. 9News
The daughter, aged in her 50s, was taken to hospital as a precaution having also suffered smoke inhalation.
Police remain adamant that the fire was not deliberately lit but rather caused by a cooking accident.
Police said both women lived at the address.
Fire and Rescue Commissioner Jeremy Fewtrell described the death as “devastating”.
“It’s a tragic loss for the family.
“Our condolences go out to the family that’s been so sadly impacted.”
Police will prepare a report for the coroner.
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