THE weatherboard home destroyed in Sunday’s house fire at Nangwarry held cherished memories for resident Michell Bambling.
Ms Bambling drove past the charred remnants for the first time on Monday, reflecting on years of memories in the O’Loughlin Street home which belongs to her parents and once housed her now-deceased uncle.
Struggling to come to terms with yet another fire in the township, Ms Bambling revealed she had lost her own home in 2016 following a fire on Laffer Street.
The mother of three was shocked by the latest house fire – which Fire Cause Investigators determined was deliberately lit in the early hours of Sunday morning.
She revealed the latest fire would impact her family, including her children who were adversely affected by the 2016 incident.
Ms Bambling said the home was originally purchased by her parents to house her uncle after he moved from Queensland, but has been tenanted by a range of people in recent years.
“This is the only house my children have memories of my uncle in so that is now gone,” she said.
“When we lost our home, we actually lived here for a bit too so it did hold a lot of special memories for all of us.”
After the house and its contents were significantly damaged by a former tenant, Ms Bambling said the home was completely renovated.
“To see if it like it is now is absolutely devastating and I am still in shock,” she said.
Still living nearby on Laffer Street, Ms Bambling said she heard sirens but did not witness the fire.
Witnesses told her the home burnt quickly with everything gone in just over an hour.
“I had a phone call from a friend down the road ring me and say that our house was on fire and I did not believe it,” Ms Bambling said.
“I just did not think it was happening to us again.”
Ms Bambling said the sound of sirens now triggered concern across the Nangwarry community given its recent history of fires.
“I think we now just wake everyday thankful for what we have,” she said.
