A woman aged in her 90s has been rescued after her house caught fire in Cooyal St, Cowra around 9.30pm on Tuesday, December 6.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The victim, 99-year-old Coral Stirling was helped to safety by her next-door neighbours, the Williams family and was not injured.
Emergency services, including firefighters, paramedics and local police attended the scene, where they managed to quickly put out the blaze, however the interior of the house was gutted by the fire and sections of the roof have collapsed in.
Neighbours in Cooyal Street describe hearing a loud bang, which they believed was a fight breaking out, before seeing the house engulfed in flames.
Lance Hines, a relative of Mrs Stirling, said she was a resilient woman but would be devastated by the loss.
“She's going to be so lost when it hits home, she's lost her entire life of mementos and photos,” he wrote.
He also said that members of the family were now heading to Cowra to be by her side during this difficult time.
“… a huge shock to us all, my wife's leaving Coffs to head down to help and be with her family,” he said,
“A huge thank you to the Williams family for all their help getting Ma out and away from harm.”
Cowra Fire Captain Chris Murray said there was not an official cause of the fire as of Thursday afternoon.
“There is no official cause due to the timber in the roof being compromised,” Captain Murray said.
“This has created a safety issue.”
Essential Energy workers cut power to the house after the blaze had been put out and the scene was all clear around midnight.
The family has started a gofundme campaign to help Mrs Stirling after this tragedy.
If you’re interested in donating to help Mrs Stirling, please visit https://www.gofundme.com/32q5fhs