Elderly man dies after Dover Heights house fire
An elderly man has died in hospital after his home in Sydney's eastern suburbs went up in flames on Tuesday morning.
Emergency services received calls just before 9.30am reporting a house fire on Blake Street near Napier Street in Dover Heights.
A Fire and Rescue NSW spokesman said crews arrived at the scene to find a two-level residential building with large volumes smoke and flames on the upper level and roof.
A search and rescue operation commenced and a 90-year-old man was located and removed from the home.
A NSW Ambulance spokesman said the man went into cardiac arrest at the scene and was taken to St Vincent's Hospital in a critical condition.
A spokesman for the hospital confirmed the man has since died.
Neighbour Ross Cohen told Nine News he was "absolutely devastated and shocked" when he saw the home alight.
"Every day I sit and have a chat to him, he is the most beautiful, special man."
An off-duty firefighter who rushed to the scene from his nearby home also suffered minor smoke inhalation, the Fire and Rescue NSW spokesman said.
Six firefighting trucks, including one ladder truck, were tasked to the operation and were able to contain the blaze by about 10am.
The fire has since been extinguished, but the upper level of the home sustained extensive damage.
Neighbouring homes were also evacuated as a precaution, police said. Blake Street and Napier Street remained closed at 11.30am.
Officers from the eastern suburbs police area command attended and remain on scene with the cause of the fire yet to be determined.
More to come