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Darby Street fire ‘horrific’ says neighbour

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A neighbour has described this morning’s house fire on Darby Street in Cooks Hill as “horrific”.

Speaking from the front of the burnt home on Thursday 21 October, the concerned fellow-resident said he was surprised by how quickly the flames took hold of the top-floor, two-storey structure.

“I was in bed watching the news when I heard a loud explosion,” he said.

“It was about 6.30am.

“When I ran outside there were more residents getting themselves out of their homes and trying to figure out what had gone on.

“I saw smoke coming out the back of the unit and then it really did go up [in flames] quickly. You hear it happens fast, and it really does.

[Bertrand] says the first he knew someone had been hurt was when he saw the resident being carried downstairs to the grassed area below his second-storey unit.

“I watched them dragging him in his underwear down the stairs. He didn’t look in a good way.

“And I haven’t seen his little dog since.

“The whole thing is horrific.

“Most of the other neighbours in the block aren’t young either, so it must have been terrifying for them.”

The injured 41-year-old male was later airlifted to the Royal North Shore Hospital in a critical condition for treatment to severe burns.

The unit, located in a block of four between Bull and Parry streets, has suffered extensive damage, with fire investigators and NSW Police continuing to review the cause of the fire.

“You can see the roof tiles blown off and that insulating material hanging down there can’t be good for anyone breathing it in.

“The little unit’s a wreck, and it’s not the first time that one’s been trashed. 

“It’ll cost a bit to fix this one up.”

The young man injured in the fire, Bertrand says, lived alone.

“He pretty much kept to himself. It’s an awful thing that’s happened to him. You wouldn’t wish it on anyone.”

For more:

Man airlifted to hospital after unit fire in Cooks Hill

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