One dead and three hospitalised in Croydon apartment fire

By ERIN MODARO

One person is dead, and three others have been hospitalised after an “intense” fire broke out at an apartment block in Croydon early this morning. NSW Fire and Rescue were called to the unit in Sydney’s inner-west at around 5:45am with reports of an explosion and fire breaking out.

CROYDON | Person deceased after unit fire. A person has been found dead and three others have been hospitalised after an intense unit fire this morning at Croydon in Sydney.

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) received multiple Triple Zero (000) calls… https://t.co/XbI1x6B96T

— Fire and Rescue NSW (@FRNSW) February 19, 2023

When rescue services arrived at the scene, they found the fire had engulfed the ground floor apartment and was quickly spreading to homes on levels above. Residents on the third floor above the fire were not able to self-evacuate, so firefighters evacuated them using a ladder.

Firefighters say the person was found dead on the ground floor, where they suspect the fire was started.

30 escape safely

30 people were safely evacuated from the burning building by over 40 firefighters who arrived on the scene.

A resident of the apartment block, a firefighter and a police officer were taken to hospital for treatment, but are reported to be in stable condition.

An investigation into the start of the fire is underway, with no cause identified as of yet.