Grave fears for two missing after Hawkesbury house fire

Two people are missing after a fire tore through a home in the Hawkesbury area, north-west of Sydney on Monday morning, triggering a complex emergency operation lasting for several hours.

More than 50 firefighters were faced with a “very overwhelming situation” when they arrived to find flames tearing through the two-storey brick house on Lieutenant Bowen Drive in Bowen Mountain at 2.10am on Monday.

The fire raged for almost two hours, collapsing the roof of the house and other internal structures. An early assessment suggested the walls could also collapse, prompting emergency responders to retreat from the site to protect themselves.

The fire was contained just before 4am, allowing firefighters to enter the property.

Five people – a mix of adults and children – who were inside the house escaped the blaze and have been taken to Nepean Hospital for smoke inhalation. Two people are missing.

NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Trent Curtin said parts of the house were still smouldering at 8am, and that drones and dogs would be deployed to assist with rescue efforts.

“Many parts of the home have collapsed, so firefighters are moving into the home with hose lines to gain access to areas where they can search for the unaccounted for people,” Curtain said. “At this stage, the search is still under way.”

Police have established a crime scene as they investigate the circumstances leading to the fire.

Lieutenant Bowen Drive is a long residential street with homes on its western side directly bordering the Blue Mountains.

RFS Superintendent Jonathan Hill, one of the first firefighters on the scene, said the initial decision to retreat from the home was “incredibly tough”. He said “words can’t really describe” the difficulty of the morning.

“It’s a situation that you really can’t comprehend until you’re in it,” Hill said. “We want to help the community, we do our best. And again, there’s a human side of this that you can’t always explain.”

The fire has caused no damage to neighbouring homes.

Be the first to know when major news happens. Sign up for breaking news alerts on email or turn on notifications in the app.