Angelo and Francesca Melfi with authorities outside their fire-damaged home in Dennis Street, Lakemba, the home in which a man died in Ogmore Circuit in Bankstown and the Punchbowl unit where a woman escaped a blaze by jumping from a balcony and broke her leg.
They were among three major houses fires over three days in Canterbury Bankstown, with the other in Punchbowl where a woman jumped to safety from her second-level balcony.
An emergency escape plan and smoke detectors helped save the lives of Francesca Melfi and Angelo, who ran to safety – with the help of neighbours – when their Dennis Street home caught fire.
The couple were watching television when they had a blackout.
Mrs Melfi said after going outside and realising the blackout only affected her home, she went back inside where she saw the control panel of her air-conditioner and alarm sparking … and then her smoke alarm went.
That’s when she grabbed her husband and ran to the back of the house, where her “beautiful neighbours next door, thank God for them” helped them get to the front of the property and to safety.
“It’s devastating for us … and very upsetting but we’re just lucky to be here,” Mrs Melfi said as she fought back tears.
She was applauded for her actions by Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) Commissioner Paul Baxter “for protecting the most irreplaceable thing in a fire occurring in a house and that’s a life”.
He has now appealed to everyone to “please act on this, a working smoke alarm will save your life and the lives of the ones you love”.
He said check on the older adults in your life, parents, grandparents, neighbours, help them be safe, call us if you need help.
A few hours later, firies rushed to a home in Ogmore Circuit in Bankstown and found flames and a large plume of smoke issuing from the roof.
As fire crews extinguished the blaze, others turned off power and entered the home to conduct a search, where they found the man in a bedroom, where the blaze is believed to have started.
Forensics experts are working to determine how the fire started.
Earlier in the week, a women suffered a broken leg after jumping from a second-level balcony to escape a fire in her unit in Punchbowl.
Investigators suspect a heater, possibly left too close to furniture and drying clothes, is responsible for the fire.
Crews also carried her dogs to the street outside where they worked on them, before they were taken to a veterinarian for further treatment.
