A major fire has destroyed a family home in Grasmere, NSW, marking the second blaze at the property in recent months. Authorities are investigating the cause.

Grasmere

A severe fire has destroyed a family residence in Grasmere, New South Wales, with emergency crews reporting temperatures exceeding 660 degrees. Ten fire crews responded to the incident, managing to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading across the large property. No one was home at the time, and two dogs were safely rescued from the backyard. 

This is the second fire at the same property, with a previous, minor and suspicious blaze occurring earlier in the year. The cause of the current fire remains undetermined, and police have taken control of the site as investigations continue. Despite the extensive damage, some family possessions were salvaged.

House hit by second fire in a year

Cracking under the heat of a raging inferno. A family home in Grasmere, no match for the fire's fury. It was a very aggressive fire when crews arrived this morning. I can tell by the damage to some of the materials on the house that temperatures exceeded 660 degrees. Flames pierced through two storeys as supports fall to the floor. Ten fire crews with hose lines on both sides of the property doused the blaze to stop the damage spreading across the 4,000 square metres under threat during the 5.30am awakening. I heard some cars driving past. Maybe it sounded like a Merc, maybe something mean, something with some power in it. Didn't really think much of it. We were still doing our push-ups, getting busy, and then, yeah, saw the fire, we went, whoa. It was very quick. We saw the front doors on fire initially, and then before you knew it, the whole house was on fire. I believe there was some construction work being done in part of the house. While the cause is yet to be determined, it's now at least the second time this once-lavish $3 million residence has burned, the first in June, minor but suspicious. They attempted to light it on fire. It didn't go too well. I think this one worked. Very unusual, considering it is a nice area. You never see anything like this. The flames are so severe, it took more than 40 fireys over an hour to gain control. Luckily, no-one was home at the time, and two Labradors are now safe in the backyard. While the damage is beyond repair, not all of the family's possessions were lost. The owners were optimistically happy. They're having a really bad day, but firefighters were able to give them some good news. The smouldering and gutted home has been handed over to police. Olivia Blunden, 10 News.

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