Fire destroys village unit

A retirement village unit at Empire Bay was destroyed by a fire in the early hours of Monday, December 27.

The fire caused Empire Bay Drive to be closed for three hours and diversions to be put in place.

The fire occurred at about 3am at The Cove Retirement Village on 33 Empire Bay Dr, Empire Bay.

According to police, there was minimal impact to traffic on Empire Bay Dr due to the time of day.

Police were alerted to the fire after a man in a nearby unit smelt smoke and gained entry to the unit discovering it was well alight.

He contacted police and the fire brigade, and proceeded to notify residents in nearby units and evacuate them.

Once police arrived on the scene, further evacuations took place in nearby units.

There was nobody in the affected unit at the time.

The unit was completely destroyed by fire and several surrounding units sustained water and smoke damage.

Six residents were evacuated to alternative temporary accommodation in display units at the village.

The following morning crime scene detectives attended the scene.

Investigations are ongoing, however, the fire has not been identified as suspicious, with a possible electrical cause.

Kaitlin Watts, 7 Jan 2011 Interviewees: Insp Bruce Coates, NSW Police Katie Lennon, Stockland