Witness reports place two young boys at the scene on Fernleigh Road, with a neighbour resolute that they robbed the house before torching it.

Its owner is currently recovering in hospital from an unrelated condition and was informed of the heartbreaking news in the morning.

“They are absolutely devastated,” son-in-law Dennis Purcell said.

“They’ve lost everything. It’s so hard to reconcile someone could rob a house and then set it on fire.

“To take someone’s possessions is one thing, but to then take everything else from them is devastating.”

Early police investigations are yet to confirm whether the house was robbed, but the blaze is being treated as suspicious.

Neighbour Dianne Ross was first on the scene at 5am and reported seeing the boys flee with “a blanket filled with possessions” as a wall of flames gutted the home behind them.

“It was unbelievable,” she said.

“I was so shocked; I screamed and my husband was onto the police straight away. It could have taken our house as well.”

The fire has raised concerns the city’s youth crime wave has reached a new level of severity, with calls for Wagga City Council to immediately improve street lighting in known criminal hotspots.

It comes just weeks after a deliberately lit fire at the Fernleigh Road car wreckers and gas bottles were turned on at nearby Bunnings.

Long-term resident Darryl Ross said the road was “blacker than Tarcutta” at night, with almost every home in the immediate area targeted by thieves.

“We are being terrorised,” he said. 

“It is beyond the point of ridiculous, how can you be so low as to break-in to the home and then set it on fire.

“And then they get off with a slap on the wrist – if they are caught. Something needs to be done because this is not fair.”

If you or anyone you know has information over the fire please phone Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or Wagga police on 6922 2599.