Nothing in your house is more valuable than you. Over the last few years we've had people re-enter their homes to grab their wallet, grab their phone, or their pet, and die.
Superintendent Scott Dodson, Fire and Rescue NSW
Firefighters in the Hunter had a busy day on Thursday, with three serious blazes at homes across the region within 12 hours.
Crews were called to house fires at Greta, North Lambton and Jesmond between 4.30am and 3pm.
The Hunter fires came after a man was taken to hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation after a blaze started in a home on the Central Coast, when a candle was knocked over in a back room at a Blue Haven house about 1.30pm on Wednesday.
Superintendent Scott Dodson, who has been with Fire and Rescue NSW for more than two decades, said this week's fires were unrelated - and not being treated as suspicious - and that it was "an unlucky coincidence" to have a run of serious house fires in a small area in such a short period of time.
But he said the spate of blazes in the Hunter showed that house fires could break out at any time.
"It's really important that people have got working smoke alarms," Superintendent Dodson.
"Get out and stay out [if there is a fire]. Nothing in your house is more valuable than you. Over the last few years we've had people re-enter their homes to grab their wallet, grab their phone, or their pet, and die."
The busy day began when a person passing a house fire at Greta called Triple Zero.
The blaze was extinguished but not before the home was destroyed.
Firefighters put on breathing apparatus to check the premises was not occupied.
Then, firefighters were called to a home burning on Lester Parade at North Lambton about 1.30pm.
Seven trucks responded to the emergency call and extinguished the fire.
Then, at 3pm, 25 firefighters were sent to a home alight on Heaton Street at Jesmond, where they contained the blaze to the unoccupied property and stopped it from spreading to nearby houses.
The causes of the three fires are still being determined, but they are not being treated as suspicious.
Meanwhile, a firefighter was treated for heat stress on Friday morning after crews were called to a shed fire on a property near Singleton.
