A KOORINGAL woman has recounted the moment she tried to comfort her distressed neighbours as they watched on helplessly as their homes burnt to the ground.
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Police are investigating the cause of a fire that broke out shortly before midnight on Monday night and destroyed four units on Sherwood Avenue, Kooringal.
Shea Denham, who lives adjacent to the block, said she was standing on her driveway about 11.50pm waiting for her uncle to get back from work when she noticed a "glow" across the street.
"We had a young couple move in about a month ago, so I thought they were having a bonfire, but then I noticed a flame go through the roof," she said.
"Then the neighbour from the first unit yelled out for help, so we rushed over there."
Miss Denham said after she helped the man in unit one she turned her attention to a young mother who had been nursing her distraught toddler.
"I went to help the young mother in the back unit calm her toddler down," she said.
Miss Denham said she feels for the residents who have lost everything in the blaze, including two people in their 20s and an older man.
Fire and Rescue NSW Riverina Zone Commander Superintendent Stewart Alexander said crews from Wagga and Turvey Park stations arrived at the Sherwood Avenue scene to find four units on fire. Superintendent Alexander said two crews and about 20 firefighters worked at the scene until after 4am.
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"The crews responded very quickly to a call at about five to midnight," Superintendent Alexander said.
"When they got there four units were well alight.
"Three people self-evacuated and, fortunately, there were no reported injuries.
"Police are conducting an investigation into what may have caused it.
"At this stage, we are not quite sure."
NSW Fire and Rescue Wagga Zone Commander Daryl Manson, who was on the scene of the fire, said there was extensive damage done to all four attached units.
"Because they share a common roof void it spread very quickly," Inspector Manson said.
"Two units were vacant, but there was extensive damage done to all four of them."
A resident of one of the destroyed units, who did not wish to be named, said he had woken up to the sound of an explosion at about 11.40pm.
He went to investigate and found that the fire had already made its way into his spare bedroom.
The fire took hold of his mattress and in a desperate bid to prevent it from spreading further inside his unit he managed to drag it outside.
Initially he thought the blaze might have started in his unit as his smoke alarm had sounded but his neighbour's detector had not.
However, he said he initially thought the mattress was the only item on fire in his unit as , which, at the time, he thought had been the only thing on fire in his unit as he said his fire alarm was going off, but fire alarm next door hadn't been.
The resident then yelled out for help.
Police have established a crime scene at the property and are treating the fire as suspicious.
Wagga sergeant Corrie Ward told a press conference yesterday morning that police are seeking public assistance in relation to any suspicious activity in the area from around the same time as the fire.
"The investigation is ongoing," Sergeant Ward said.
"We are appealing for anyone who may have been in the area at the time to come forward with anything they may have seen as suspicious.
"At this time we are still waiting to gain access to the structure."
Upon police request, Fire and Rescue NSW Wagga used its remotely piloted aircraft systems to aid the investigation.
The device, much like a drone, provided snapshots of the structure to give fire investigators, police and forensics an idea as to where everything was as the structure was deemed unsafe to enter.
"We used them to get a snapshot of the scene before we started meddling around," Inspector Manson said.
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