A 17-year-old boy found with burns after a house fire in Sydney’s Inner West has been charged with arson, joy riding and property fraud.
The two-storey home in Weddle Avenue, Abbotsford, was destroyed after flames broke out at about 4am on Tuesday. Three occupants were treated for smoke inhalation, while an 88-year-old woman was rescued from a balcony.
Police officers and a 49-year-old civilian used a ladder to reach the woman as the blaze took hold. Superintendent Christine McDonald said the civilian’s actions had helped save her life.
“I’ve just seen the body-worn footage of that particular rescue, and can I say I am incredibly proud of the police and the 49-year-old civilian who rescued that woman, they saved her life,” she said.
Investigators treated the fire as suspicious after a neighbour reported seeing a man wearing a balaclava allegedly spreading accelerant before the blaze began.
The neighbour is also said to have confronted the suspect as he fled towards a red Holden. Police later arrested the teenager at a home in Merrylands, near Parramatta, at about 11pm on Tuesday.
The boy was treated in hospital for burns to his hands and legs and was described as being in a stable condition. He remained in hospital on Wednesday morning and was expected to appear in court later that day for a bail hearing.
Detectives from a squad investigating youth crime networks, along with arson investigators, carried out a search warrant at the Merrylands property and seized several items of interest.
Police said the occupants of the Abbotsford house were not believed to have any criminal links.
About 40 crews and 10 fire trucks attended the incident at its height. The fire spread briefly to an adjoining property but was contained within the building, leaving sections of the walls and roof missing and burnt debris piled across the lower levels.
