A Hay woman’s new home has burned to the ground before she had a chance to move in.
The new corrugated iron home was almost finished when it went up in flames on Wednesday morning.
Workmen arrived at the Mid Western Highway property, on the north-eastern outskirts of the town, around 6am on Wednesday.
When they got there, they found the house well alight.
Emergency services were called but the home was completely destroyed.
“Once the first crews were there, the fire had a really good hold on the structure,” NSW RFS’s Jason Wall said.
“The home was being built – they were nearly ready to take over occupancy.”
Despite efforts from the NSW Rural Fire Service and the Hay NSW Fire and Rescue crews, the home could not be saved.
The unoccupied home has been valued at $572,000.
Further investigations will be carried out today (Thursday, July 16) and in coming days, after rain hindered emergency services.
At least one fire truck became bogged on Wednesday morning and the scene was inaccessible due to it still smoldering.
“At this stage we’re not treating it as suspicious but we still haven’t been able to establish the cause of why it started,” Inspector Jy Brown from the Deniliquin Local Area Command said.
“The scene is yet to be examined as it was still smoldering yesterday.”
Police are investigating the cause of the fire and anyone with information relating to the blaze is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
