Sydney family loses home after iPhone charger sparks devastating blaze

A Sydney family has lost almost everything after their home was gutted by a devastating fire sparked by an iPhone charger left plugged in overnight.

The blaze erupted at 4.30am on Graham St in Narellan, while a man, woman and their daughter were asleep inside. Neighbours watched helplessly as flames consumed the property.

“You can feel the heat, eh? It was like jets of flames coming out the window. It was going hard,” one witness said.

Another neighbour described the terrifying moment they realised something was wrong.

“I heard all this noise. I thought it was gunshots. I could see from my front yard, over the tops of the houses, I could see the tops of the flames and the embers rising up.”

All three residents managed to escape the inferno unharmed, though two were taken to hospital as a precaution.

“They all just got straight out of their house, which was fantastic. I said that was the best thing they could have done,” a neighbour said. “They were pretty shell-shocked.”

The fire was so ferocious it nearly jumped to neighbouring properties, prompting emergency evacuations.

“There was a banging on my door. He said, ‘oh, you’ve got to get out, you’ve got to get out’,” one resident recalled.

Another neighbour said: “I woke up to like the megaphone and I was like so confused. I literally thought I was getting evacuated. I like went to wake up my brother. I was like, Will, something’s happening.”

Investigators determined the fire was caused by an iPhone charger that caught alight while charging a phone in a bedroom overnight.

“It all looks like it was a legit charger. Be careful of recharging any battery overnight,” authorities warned.

Neighbours expressed their shock and sympathy for the family.

“The dad seemed all right, you know, dealing with it, but the daughter was pretty distraught. It’s so sad,” one said.

“He’s such a nice man. He’s always doing stuff for everybody else.”