Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews have rescued three people and a dog who were trapped by a second storey unit fire in Merrylands West.
Just after 9.45am today, more than 40 firefighters and ten fire trucks, including an aerial ladder appliance, responded to numerous Triple Zero (000) calls to a fire on the second floor of a residential building in Arcadia Street, amid reports of people trapped.
A working smoke alarm alerted a woman inside the unit to the flames.
She opened a bedroom door to find thick, black smoke billowing from an e-bike that had been on charge.
The toxic smoke prevented the woman from exiting the unit, so she sheltered in the bedroom and called Triple Zero (000).
On arrival, FRNSW crews observed flames and large volumes of smoke from the unit.
Firefighters brought the fire under control and, using an aerial ladder truck, rescued the woman and her dog through the bedroom window.
A man and a woman on the balcony above the burning unit were also rescued by firefighters.
The fire was contained to the level two unit.
The remainder of the block was affected by smoke, and crews ventilated the property.
Crews completed their operations just after 11.15am and the handed the site over to FRNSW and NSW Police investigators, who are examining the e-bike as the suspected cause.
Ellie Busby is a news reporter for Western Sydney Publishing Group. A graduate of the University of Hertfordshire and Western Sydney University, she is a journalism Major. Ellie has worked with Universal Media, The Cova Project and for a range of other organisations. In 2024, Ellie was named Young Writer of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.