Wingham Fire and Rescue captain, David O’Donnell said the call came through around 4pm. When they arrived at the scene the house was fully involved with the fire going through the roof and the windows.

“Obviously our first concern was to make sure that no-one was in the building,” David said.

“Once we found that out to be the case, and the power isolated, we were in defensive mode until we extinguished the blaze.”

Wingham resident Wayne Bridge shared a Facebook live video he took on the scene:

Wingham resident, Wayne Bridge saw the incident unfold.

“Within a 20 to 25 minute period it went from nothing to the roof collapsing,” Wayne said. “It was very quick.”

Four fire trucks, two from Wingham and two from Taree, and 16 firefighters attended the scene, with other emergency services. 

The structure was deemed unsound, with a possible asbestos risk minimised by the Taree Hazmat tanker and the area isolated.

Wingham Fire and Rescue attended again on Saturday morning to douse hard to reach spots that had reignited. 

Police are unable to enter the structure at this time to investigate the cause of the fire.

“They’ve done some investigations. Our problems with that fire is that the house is fabricated with asbestos and the damage is so severe that it is unsafe for us to put anyone inside,” Manning Great Lakes Police District chief inspector Christine George said.

“With the rain that is coming now, they might reassess because obviously when asbestos is wet down sufficiently it becomes a bit safer.”

Police investigations into the fire will continue.