Grave fears for person missing after fire destroys northern beaches home

There are grave fears for one person after a fire tore through a home in Sydney’s northern beaches on Friday morning. Close to two dozen firefighters were later on scene to combat the complex blaze.

Fire services were called to the home on Hilltop Road, Avalon at 1am on Friday following reports of a house fire. Flames were venting through the roof as emergency services arrived.

Six fire trucks and 22 firefighters were battling the blaze on Friday morning. The fire destroyed parts of the house and made it impossible for firefighters to enter the property.

One person believed to be a resident at the home is unaccounted for, though firefighters are unsure if that person was at the property at the time of the blaze. Police are conducting external searches to locate the person.

Fire and Rescue NSW Superintendent Adam Dewberry said initial firefighting efforts were complicated by the landscape of the property. Firefighters attempted to enter the property earlier on Friday but were forced to retreat due to the intensity of the fire.

“The fire’s pretty much been extinguished,” Dewberry said. “Firefighters have entered the home, and they are working their way through and clearing rooms. What they’ve got to achieve is actually move the structural collapse, pieces of roof tiles, the wall linings, everything out of those rooms as they conduct a search.”

“It’s pretty complex landscape. We’ve got the front of the house at street level with the ground falling away at the rear of our home on stilts.”

Parts of the floor and the roof have fallen away, prompting concerns that firefighters could fall up to five metres down a steep gully towards the back of the home. Firefighters deployed drones to guide water streams dousing the blaze and to check for hidden hotspots concealing any flames.

Dewberry said it was an “extremely dangerous” operation.

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