Family of Three Killed in Sydney House Fire

A family of three has been killed in a house fire in Sydney's south-west overnight, NSW Police say. Emergency services were called to reports of a property fire at Wiley Park about 9:45pm yesterday. Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) responded with five fire trucks and 20 firefighters. "The crews were confronted by a ferocious fire as they arrived," a FRNSW statement read. "They forced their way through the burning exterior of the property, extinguishing scaffolding and garden trellis that had caught alight. Campsie Police Area Command Superintendent Sheridan Waldau said the bodies were yet to be formally identified, but a family was known to reside at the property. "That consists of a 52-year-old male, a 43-year-old female and 16-year-old male, but we're working with extended family members at the moment to try and establish an identification," she said. 'Completely destroyed' FRNSW Commissioner Jeremy Fewtrell, who attended the scene to provide support to crews, said it was a difficult situation. "The first challenge the firefighters had was a fairly significant access ... there was a number of obstacles for them to navigate," he said. "Then, material around the garden and in front of the granny flat caught fire, so they had to extinguish that before they could even [contemplate] accessing the granny flat. "Flames were pouring out of the windows and any other opening in the granny flat, so the fire had become fully developed and a very intense fire before they'd even had a chance to gain access." Commissioner Fewtrell said the property was "completely destroyed" by fire. "You can see the impact of the heat on the walls where the linings of the walls have been burnt off, so it was quite an intense fire and in a very sort of contained space." Firefighters thanked Commissioner Fewtrell said losing three people in a fire was "absolutely devastating", but said the firefighters went "above and beyond". "They were working in very challenging conditions, there were items on the floor that were in their way, it was very slippery inside there, they were trying to make their way through a difficult situation and layout to locate these people," he said. "To have an incident where three people have died in this circumstance is particularly tragic and it does have an impact on firefighters and the other first responders." The investigation which began last night is still in the early stages, with Commissioner Fewtrell expecting them to continue throughout the day. "Firefighters will work systematically to lift those layers up and to see what they find underneath each layer to form a sequence of events." He extended his condolences to the loved ones of the victims. While the cause of the fire is unknown, Commissioner Fewtrell urged people to check the safety of their homes. "Take the effort and the time just to check your smoke alarms, it'll only take a minute or so, but we want you to press the button, we want you to hear the noise when the smoke alarm beeps so that you know that it is working," he said. "Also, the use of heaters, to make sure that you're using those safely, that you're not putting things too close to the heater, and that you're not using any materials for heating that should only be used outside like barbecues or charcoal stoves." A crime scene has been established at the property, with Campsie Police detectives working alongside the State Crime Arson Squad and fire investigators to determine the cause of the fire. A report will be prepared for the coroner.