FIRE AND RESCUE NSW HUNTER REPORT
A house fire at Kilaben Bay on Monday afternoon was the most intense that the first arriving fire crew from Toronto had ever attended.
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"We could see a huge volume of smoke as soon as we left the station", station officer Brett Hedley said.
"The amount of fire activity was extraordinary. Flames were roaring out of every window on both levels of the house. Neighbouring houses on both sides were being impacted."
Residents reported that everyone had evacuated from the building, saving fire crews the dangerous task of entering the premises to conduct a search.
Firefighters concentrated their initial efforts on protecting the adjoining properties. One house caught alight when flames breached the eaves.
Crews entered and managed to extinguish the fire and save the house. The house on the other side received external damage.
"The fire activity was so powerful that within minutes of us arriving a large part of the house collapsed. One whole side of the building fell in, if we'd had crews inside it would have been disastrous."
In total, 13 fire trucks attended the incident, working well into the night before the blaze was completely extinguished.
Horrendous bush fire conditions continue, with Fire and Rescue NSW crews continuing to work side by side with Rural Fire Service crews, fighting bushfires both within the Hunter and further north.