Firefighters rescue collapsed woman from burning home

Australian Community Media

A woman was found unconscious inside a Daceyville home that was filling with thick, toxic smoke down to floor level on Thursday 28 May 2025.

Transcript

00:00At quarter past twelve this morning Fire Rescue in New South Wales responded

00:03five fire trucks and 20 firefighters to reports of this single level home on

00:07fire at that time of the night we always anticipate someone will be in the

00:14property it is nighttime people are asleep generally when our firefighters

00:18arrived a short time later they were confronted with that heavy fire activity

00:21at the front of this home the neighbors were applying some water from a garden

00:26hose you know making a little impact but not enough to quell or contain that

00:31fire and the neighbors actually reported to me just then how the fire was up in

00:35that roof cavity and spreading it was extremely intense firefighters got in

00:40they started knocking down the fire they were confronted by really thick zero

00:45visibility as they moved through the home and to conduct that search the second

00:49true crew came in while the first crew made it easier for them to get in or a

00:55little bit safer by knocking down that fire that first crew continued on with

00:59the search of the property the second crew arrived and got complete fire

01:02extinguishment as they moved through the home towards the rear they got to the

01:07back door and located a person a lady who was unconscious lying on the floor at the

01:14closed back door they took her out of the back door they picked her up dragged her

01:19out put her on the rear yard another team of firefighters moved in with oxygen we

01:24carry oxygen on our trucks because smoke is what the biggest killer is in the

01:28first event of a fire all the smoke is full of all sorts of toxic products but

01:33including predominantly carbon monoxide which is fatal very early on in the

01:39fire this lady was unconscious they pulled her out they got that oxygen onto it

01:44the ambulance paramedics arrived a short time later continued that treatment and

01:48have transported to to hospital for that further treatment I took about an hour to

01:54get this fire completely extinguished to make sure that there was no fire

01:57activity up in the roof space then investigations commenced so

02:02investigations commenced and was satisfied that the fire has started in a

02:06front bedroom and the cause is it's either a heater that was faulty or a heater

02:12that was just too close to flammable materials we are approaching winter we do see a

02:18lot more fires in your home at winter you're using different devices heaters

02:22electric blankets different types of cooking wheat bags we can overlaid

02:27power boards so we are reminding people just be careful out there this time we're

02:33not too sure if a working smoke alarm fitted something has woken this lady up to

02:38get her up and to the back door but as you can see the smoke got to her and she

02:44collapsed at the back door it was only a matter of minutes if that until we would

02:49be talking about an absolute tragedy here this morning but fortunately the

02:52early intervention occurred so going on with the fire looking like the cause of

02:58the fire is faulty heater or heated too close to flammable materials such as a

03:03cupboard or bedding or a lounge we need to talk to the occupant to get that

03:08further information it is a reminder to everyone and you need to be aware that

03:13fires do happen in homes all times of the year all times of the day you are at

03:18your most vulnerable at night when you're asleep you will not smell smoke

03:22when you are asleep first line of defense is those working smoke alarms make

03:27sure they are working they are less than 10 years old and you have tested them

03:31regularly a lucky escape here last night and that's because of the work of

03:37fire risk in NSW firefighters getting here quickly getting in under that fire

03:42getting in under the zero visibility of the black acrid oily smoke doing a

03:47methodical search through the home and locating that lady who was collapsed on

03:53the rear floor at the back door couldn't get out check those smoke alarms stay

03:58safe be safe and if you don't know how to check your smoke alarms contact your

04:02local fire station ask them how to or even better invite them down to

04:07do it for you

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