Elderly woman dies in second

Blue Mountains house fire

AN ELDERLY woman has died in a house fire in the Blue Mountains, the second fatal blaze in a day.

A man and woman, both aged in their 70s, were rescued from the fire and are in hospital in a serious condition.

Emergency crews were called to the Hazelbrook home about 9pm yesterday (Friday), police say.

Two people were removed from the house by an off-duty police officer.

A woman’s body was later found inside the home.

Fire-fighters remain at the house and are searching for the cause of the blaze.

On Thursday night a man was found dead in his Blaxland, Blue Mountains, home.

And forensic police officers have discovered suspected human remains, believed to be those of a woman, at the site of a fire in Sydney’s south.

The Redgum Place house, in the beachside suburb of Cronulla, burned at sunset on Thursday.

Detectives could not safely access the fire-damaged house until yesterday, when they discovered suspected human remains.

One other person was injured in the blaze and taken to hospital.

In Sydney’s west, fire-fighters doused a

blaze in an unoccupied home at Shalvey

Emergency services were called to the Kooyong Way premises about 9:20pm yesterday, police say.

The fire’s cause remains undetermined at this time.

Meanwhile, the State Opposition says a government plan to temporarily shut some fire stations across the state could lead to more deaths.

Under the government’s plan to cut costs, as many as eight fire stations across New South Wales would be closed each day.

The closures will allow fire-fighters to fill shortages elsewhere on those days.

NSW Opposition Leader, John Robertson, says the recent tragic house fires highlight the need for quick response times by fire-fighters.

“This is government putting at risk the lives of the community and the safety of the community by increasing response times for fire-fighters,” Mr Robertson has told Sydney media.

On Thursday the NSW Industrial Relations Commission ordered the government to suspend the plan for another week while unions and FRNSW continue discussions about cost-cutting measures.

FRNSW Commissioner Greg Mullins previously said as many as eight fire stations could be taken offline in Sydney each day “without compromising our response-time capabilities”.