Young man killed in Guildford house fire identified as 21-year-old Pakistani student Haidar Ali

The victim of a fatal house fire sparked by an e-bike battery has been identified as a young international student who was trying to set up a new life for himself in Sydney.

Haidar Ali, 21, was killed when a lithium-ion battery that was charging in his room exploded just before 5am on Tuesday.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Man dies in Guildford house fire sparked by lithium-ion battery explosion

Five of his housemates managed to escape the home on Rowley Rd, Guildford, but Ali was trapped inside and couldn’t be saved.

Ali had recently moved to Australia from Pakistan and was trying to make a living by delivering food on his electric bike.

“He was a very good man,” friend Muhammad Asif said.

“He was studying civil construction.”

A neighbour told 7NEWS.com.au she was woken by the sound of “explosion noises”.

She jumped out of bed and saw her house was “lit up from the flames”.

She immediately rang emergency services as she watched the man’s housemates trying to save his life.

“Two of the residents were outside with a hose trying to put it out and just screaming out a name,” she said.

“I didn’t know there was someone in there until paramedics arrived. They (the two men) were screaming for paramedics to get him.

“It is just a massive shock. I feel sorry for these boys.”

Fire and Rescue NSW Assisting Commissioner Michael Morris said the incident was the third case of a fire sparked by a lithium-ion battery in the past 24 hours.

He said lithium-ion batteries were of “significant concern” to firefighters.

“Unfortunately when (the batteries) have a problem they do tend to run away — what we call thermal runaway, which is an explosion,” he said.

“(It) creates intense heat and flame and produces very thick, toxic smoke rapidly.

“We’re asking people not to charge e-bikes while they’re sleeping, to make sure they’re not charged in exit pathways and it’s also very, very important that they have a working smoke alarm to provide the earliest possible indication that something’s gone wrong.”

Morris said there was no indication the Guildford home had a working smoke alarm.

Ali’s family has been notified of his death and are making arrangements to have his body sent home.

Hamid Saroha from the Pakistan Association of Australia said Ali’s death would impact the entire Pakistani community.

“It’s really shocking news for the whole Pakistani community,” Saroha said.

“Please stay away from ... substandard electric bikes otherwise (your) life could be changed in a couple of minutes and hours.”

Investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.