University students have been forced to flee their accommodation after the building filled with smoke and fire.
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Firefighters were called to the Charles Sturt University property on Bromfield Court in Thurgoona about 3pm on Monday.
An air conditioner caught alight and forced about eight residents to flee.
Student Kirrily Heywood said she raised the alarm after smelling smoke.
"We were all sitting in our rooms, I smelt smoke and came out and noticed the whole common room was smoking," she said.
"I got two of the guys, went outside and saw the air conditioner was on fire.
"I turned the alarm on, called security and got everyone out of the house.
"It was very scary."
Ms Heywood said her room suffered water and fire damage.
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"It's unlivable at the moment," she said.
The students had required different accommodation on Monday night, with the situation made more difficult as most staff were on holiday.
About 18 people usually live at the site.
Fire and Rescue NSW Inspector Frank Finlay said crews had the incident under control within about 30 minutes.
"The guys were confronted with a smoke filled room," he said.
"They donned breathing apparatus, went inside and worked out that an air conditioning system has spread smoke and fire through the building"
Part of the ceiling collapsed and computer systems were damaged.
"There's a lot of structural damage," he said.
"We've had a run of hot weather and air conditioners have been running pretty hard.
"People should ensure they get their air conditioners serviced before summer starts, just to be sure that this doesn't happen to them."
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