The chimney still stood tall, but there was little else left of an abandoned miner’s cottage on Mount Keira Road but blackened bricks and a collapsed tin roof after a fire ravaged the dwelling on Thursday night.
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Rural Fire Service crews were called to an unknown fire in Mount Keira at about 11pm and on arriving found the uninhabited home engulfed by flames.
Another crew was also called to a car fire along the road, which was in fact the house alight.
Both teams worked for a number of hours to extinguish the fire.
The cottage was on NSW National Parks and Wildlife land, nestled neatly among the surrounding bush, back from a bend in the road.
According to NSW Parks and Wildlife, the home was formerly occupied by the Swan family and was built by the mine’s carpenter.
RFS Illawarra Zone Manager Superintendent Richard Cotterill said power had not been connected to the property for some time.
There were concerns the building contained asbestos, with fire crew decontaminating their equipment following the operation, Supt Cotterill said.
The cause of the blaze is now being investigated by police and the RFS.