Woman hospitalised after Coogee boarding house gutted by intense fire
Residents of a boarding house in Sydney's eastern suburbs have had an "incredibly lucky" escape after an intense fire ripped through the building early on Monday morning, leaving one woman in hospital with burns.
Firefighters were called to the two-level building on Dolphin Street, Coogee, shortly before 5am and arrived to find it completely engulfed in flames.
A woman in her early 20s was taken to hospital suffering burns to her legs and feet, which police said were "not considered life-threatening". Other residents managed to escape unharmed, according to the building's management.
Century 21 Maroubra agent Eleni Roumanos said the residents, mostly tourists, were woken by smoke alarms and ran out of the burning building.
"Considering what's happened we're incredibly lucky," she said.
Nearby resident Mitchell Lamm said he was woken by screams and people banging on windows of the building behind his unit block, shouting "fire".
"I went to the back of my apartment to find out what was happening and people were banging on windows yelling to the top level people to get out," he said. "Within minutes the fire was getting bigger and bigger."
A spokesman for Fire and Rescue NSW said firefighters were told by the building's management that everyone had been accounted for, and a full-scale search of the building did not show signs of anyone still inside.
It took about 30 minutes to bring the fire under control, the spokesman said.
Neighbours from some nearby buildings were initially evacuated as a precaution but were cleared to return by mid-morning.
Once the building has been declared safe, specialist forensic personnel will enter and begin to determine the cause of the fire, the police spokeswoman said.
Firefighters said there were unconfirmed reports it may have originated with a bathroom heater.
Due to suspected structural damage, residents were not being allowed back into the building. Ms Roumanos said they were being put up at a nearby Coogee hotel for the time being.