Suspicious Fire Guts Windale Home, Police Investigating

A house in Windale has been severely damaged by a fire in the early hours of Thursday morning, with authorities treating the incident as suspicious.

Emergency services were called to Sturt Street shortly after 2:40 am on October 10, 2024, following reports that a blaze had ignited inside a single-storey home. Firefighters arrived to find smoke billowing from the medium-sized house.

It took multiple Fire and Rescue NSW crews over three hours to fully extinguish the flames, managing to bring the blaze under control by around 6am. Thankfully, no one was inside the house at the time of the fire, and no injuries were reported.

Neighbors at the scene informed firefighters that the residents were not at home when the fire broke out. The property was left gutted by the fire, with extensive damage throughout the interior.

NSW Police and Fire and Rescue NSW both confirmed the house was unoccupied during the blaze. After early inquiries, the fire was deemed suspicious, and the scene was handed over to police for further investigation into how the fire started.

Authorities are urging anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via the online portal.

In a separate incident, firefighters from the Hunter and Central Coast regions were called to an abandoned house fire in North Gosford just after 1:00 am on the same morning. Crews worked to extinguish the flames at the scene.

Police continue to investigate the cause of the Windale fire as part of their inquiries.