A man was taken to hospital with burns to 12 per cent of his body after his Corrimal home was destroyed by fire on Saturday night.
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Emergency services were called to the house fire at Cresting Avenue about 7pm.
Upon arrival, the house was well alight and the 71-year-old patient was sitting on the kerb with burns to his hand, arm and face, Illawarra Ambulance District Officer Terry Morrow said.
Neighbours assisted the man before paramedics arrived and transported him to Wollongong Hospital in a stable condition, before he was taken to the Concord Burns Unit.
Police cordoned off the street due to heavy smoke as Fire and Rescue trucks worked to control the blaze.
Neighbour Jan Whitehead called emergency services about 6.50pm when she saw two metre flames lapping out the window of the house next door.
A loud explosion followed about 10 minutes later.
Evacuated from her home on Saturday night, Ms Whitehead said the large hedge between the two houses saved her house from damage, although there was plenty of debris from the fire in her garden.
Across the road Brett and Susan Amatto also heard the loud explosion around 7pm and came outside to see the injured man sitting out the front of his property holding a garden hose over his head, using the water to treat his burns.
‘‘I couldn’t believe how quickly the house went up ... the house was totally gutted,’’ Mr Amatto said.
Ms Amatto said the large flames shot straight up into the air above the house and the tall trees in the garden.
‘‘I think it was fortunate it was a still night,’’ Ms Amatto said.
Wollongong Police said investigations into the cause of the fire were continuing.