More than 30 firefighters were called to contain a house fire on Harriet Street at Wallsend yesterday afternoon.
Neighbours raised the alarm, making several calls to Triple-0, after seeing black smoke billowing from the windows at the rear of the property.
Police and emergency services arrived on the scene around 2.30pm, where firefighters were confronted by a house well-alight with flames tearing through the roof of the structure, a spokesperson for the NSW Fire Brigade said.
The damage caused part of the roof to collapse, the spokesperson said, but firefighters, who remained active at the scene more than an hour after the initial callout, were able to contain the fire and protect nearby property.
An exclusion zone was established and paramedics were called as a precaution, though there were no reports of injury and it was understood there was no one inside the building at the time.
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