Sydney man killed in devastating house fire in Blacktown: Neighbours mourn war veteran

A man who was killed as a devastating fire tore through his home in Sydney’s west has been identified.

Dozens of emergency crews, including 20 firefighters, were called to Grant St in Blacktown following reports of a house fire about 4.05pm Saturday.

Fire and Rescue NSW crews pulled Ted Hartley from the home and paramedics spent 30 minutes trying to resuscitate him.

Hartley could not be saved, and it is believed he had a heart attack.

Neighbour Daniel Mula ran to the burning house to help, crying out to see if his neighbour was okay.

“We were hoping that he wasn’t home, but then we found that the firefighters extinguished the flames and pulled him out of the house,” he said.

Those who live on the street are now coming to terms with the death of their beloved neighbour.

“We’re very, very sad, you know he was a lovely guy. He didn’t deserve to go that way,” neighbour Dallas Breach said.

“He was very down to earth, spoke to us on the street when he saw us, waved at us when we were going past.”

Hartley was a war veteran and was described as kind, selfless, and someone who kept to himself.

“Everyone knew him and he knew everybody … just friendly, just a good, quiet neighbour,” Mula said.

“It’s just an unfortunate end … We will miss him dearly.”

Most of the homes on Grant Street were built in the 1950s and contain asbestos. Hazmat crews were on scene to prevent the spread of toxic particles.

Fire investigators are still working to determine how the blaze started, and it’s not yet clear if there was a working smoke alarm inside the home.