FOUL play is suspected after a home was gutted by fire in Corowa in the second major house fire in the town in less than a week.
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About 15 firefighters descended on the Isabel Street house about 11.30pm on Saturday.
The fire had started at the back door of the home and spread throughout the property.
By the time firefighters arrived, the home was aglow and there was little that could be done to save it.
Station commander Lindsay Bush said they were able to stop the flames from spreading to nearby homes.
“It’s being treated as suspicious at this stage, until the investigations are complete,” he said.
“It was great work by Fire and Rescue firefighters and the CFA to stop the spread to neighbouring properties.
“There were a large number of trees around the building.”
Some of the trees on the western side of the home caught on fire and were extinguished.
A shed at the rear eastern side of the home was blistered by heat but did not catch on fire.
Mr Bush said the temperature was also a concern for those at the scene.
“We also had NSW paramedics on scene monitoring the welfare of firefighters, with concerns for heat stress,” he said.
“There is a lot more heat stress on firefighters during warmer weather.
“It was a calm night, but hot.”
Mr Bush said the weather did not have much impact on how homes burnt, but did make things harder for firefighters.
“It took us probably an hour to bring it under control,” he said.
“It’s a weatherboard home and was fairly well going.
“We were in attendance at the incident for probably another three hours mopping up hot spots, due to the structure of the building.”
Firefighters from Albury were also brought in for assistance.
The resident is thought to have been on holiday in Queensland at the time.
It followed a non-suspicious fire in the town last Monday morning.
The Henry Street property caught alight about 7am, causing flame and smoke damage to most of the house.
A heat gun is thought to have sparked the fire at the rear of the property.
Fire and Rescue NSW Inspector Stewart Alexander said house fires were less common in summer.
“Statistically you get more house fires in the winter period because people have more heat sources on to keep warm,” he said at the time.
There are also bushfire concerns for Monday with the temperature to reach 40 degrees and fire bans on both sides of the border.
