A fire destroyed a family home in Brough Street on Friday morning.
The fire brigade was alerted to the fire by a passer-by who noticed smoke coming from the roof of the house at 7.10am.
There was no one home at the time.
The passer-by called 000 to raise the alarm and was assisted by another passer-by to gain entry to the locked home. One of the men then turned the power off in the meter box.
Station 256 Fire Brigade captain Brad Lennon said when members of the fire brigade arrived on the scene at 7.18am they found the fire had taken hold of the timber framed old home.
“The smoke was very dense.
“The weather conditions with swirling winds were hampering our efforts and fanning the fire,” Captain Lennon reported.
He said due to the large amount of smoke, a number of houses in the near vicinity were evacuated.
Police and emergency services cordoned off the area around the fire scene for a couple of blocks.
Captain Lennon said the local brigade received back up from the Rural Fire Service and also the Nyngan Fire Brigade which arrived on the scene just after 9am.
The house was completely destroyed however a caravan parked in the yard was saved from the fire as were all neighbouring properties.
Captain Lennon said due to the weather, the age of the home and limited access to the property, the brigade was called back on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning to contain two flare-ups.
The family was not at home at the time of the fire and had reportedly left that morning at around 6.30am.
Captain Lennon said there appears to be no suspicious circumstances and a forensic investigation is currently underway to determine the cause of the blaze.
The Cobar community has rallied behind the family with CSA Mine providing a house and numerous donations of clothing, furniture and household items have been made to the family.
A Gofundme online fundraising website has been set up for the family and, as of yesterday, had raised almost $14,000.
