EXCLUSIVE Wild moment brave tradie rushes to rescue woman from raging inferno engulfing her suburban house - and how she wanted to do the unthinkable

Daily Mail​

19-06-2025

A carpenter has described the moment he rushed into a blazing inferno to wake up an elderly stranger just moments before her bedroom was engulfed in flames.
The two-storey home on Theresa Street at Smithfield, in Sydney 's west, caught fire just before 7am on Thursday.
Omar Masri had been driving to work when he spotted thick plumes of smoke rising from the property. He assumed it was 'just as shed fire' but only when he got closer did he realised the actual home was well alight.
Mr Masri's first thought - that he would 'just go past' to make sure someone was aware of the fire - turned into him springing into action when he saw flames bursting through some of the home's windows.
He said smoke started appearing from another area on the left of the property as a hissing powerline overhead showered the front lawn with sparks.
A man then emerged from inside the house and told the tradie that his mother was still inside, prompting Mr Masri to selflessly venture into the flames.
He went checking from room to room, hoping the flames would keep their distance, until he found the elderly woman asleep in an upstairs bedroom.
'She wasn't breathing good, her nose was all black from the smoke. It was very, very smoky - it was nearly pitch black,' Mr Masri told Daily Mail Australia.
He managed to rouse the woman and the pair went back downstairs to the front door - but it was here that the woman's behaviour took Mr Masri by surprise.
As he tried to guide the woman outside she stopped and told him she wanted to stay inside.
'I have no idea why. I was just saying ''the fire is too big, you have to come'' and kept urging her to leave.'
The confused carpenter eventually convinced the homeowner to follow him to safety.
'Once I told her the firies (firefighters) were here she agreed.'
Mr Masri had managed to film parts of the incident and, in a video taken just after the two escaped outside, it showed the fire raging inside the woman's bedroom.
'It was just a couple of minutes later,' he said.
The front window of the bedroom had been blown out and flames were reaching several metres above the roof.
Fire and Rescue NSW then arrived a few minutes later.
Neighbours from the small, suburban cul-de-sac filed into the street to watch as firefighters battled the blaze.
Police confirmed two occupants received treatment from paramedics before they were transported to local hospitals.
One of them remains in a serious condition.
Fire crews worked to control the blaze for hours, with the structure officially declared 'fully destroyed' later on Thursday.
At one point the roof of the home partially collapsed after flames ripped through it.
Firefighters also battled a 'live' feed of electricity after the power pole outside the house collapsed.
Crews remained at the scene well into afternoon, putting out lingering 'hotspots' and monitoring for any potential structural collapse and or embers that could light other properties.
Firefighters successfully prevented the flames from reaching neighbouring homes.
Fire and Rescue NSW said specialist fire investigators will now work to determine the cause of the blaze.
Ambulance NSW told Daily Mail Australia they attended to one of the occupants at the scene.