![Specialist HAZMAT crews were called in after a suspicious fire destroyed a Farmborough Road home in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Picture by Adam McLean Specialist HAZMAT crews were called in after a suspicious fire destroyed a Farmborough Road home in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Picture by Adam McLean](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/yqbYpxNMru7TBX8VR5QF63/77295af1-c761-435d-a8e4-dcc6c91a8045.jpg/r0_389_5472_3478_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Police are investigating two suspicious fires that destroyed one home and left residents in a block of units fleeing for their life.
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The fires erupted within an hour of each other on Wednesday morning, with the first at a vacant Farmborough Heights home.
Firefighters from across the Illawarra were called to a home on Farmborough Road at 3.45am following reports the property was on fire.
"As soon as we left the station we could see flames," Fire and Rescue NSW Wollongong Station Officer Joel Beattie said.
![A house on Farmborough Road was destroyed after a fire tore through it early Wednesday morning. Picture by Adam McLean A house on Farmborough Road was destroyed after a fire tore through it early Wednesday morning. Picture by Adam McLean](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/gzajA9j5yvatvSgWamdNVy/781b20bd-c4a6-4cf4-afca-34eea86baea8.jpg/r0_322_5574_3468_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The fire was burning was so intensely that firefighters had to rush to save the home next door from being engulfed by the flames.
"There was pretty heavy fire activity," FRNSW Superintendent Adam Dewberry said.
When firefighters arrived on scene they put on breathing equipment and entered the house to search for anyone trapped inside the single-storey weatherboard home.
A specialist ladder platform firetruck was also called in to help douse the fire from above.
FRNSW Dapto crews said the fire quickly travelled through the roof of the property.
"During the later phases of the fire the ceiling and wall sheets as well as the roof frame start to collapse into the building," firefighters said.
Nobody was injured during and the inferno is now a crime scene.
"We'll just start to look at where the fire started and how it started," Supt Dewberry said.
There was asbestos in the property and HAZMAT crews were later called in to treat that hazardous material to prevent it spreading.
"We use an asbestos bonding kit. It's a glue spray to bond it [asbestos] together," Station Officer Beattie said.
In a separate fire, residents in a Port Kembla unit block were forced to flee their homes after a fire erupted in one unit at 4.54am.
Flames were visible from the second level of the Northcliffe Drive unit block as firefighters from Wollongong, Albion Park and Shellharbour arrived on scene.
Initial investigations by firefighters determined the cause of this fire is suspicious, and police were called to the scene.
A Lake Illawarra Police District spokeswoman urged anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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