A single mother-of-five has lost everything except her vehicle after a blaze broke out in her Warrawong house at the weekend.
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Chantelle Clare was with three of her children in their First Avenue North rented home when the fire started late on the night of Saturday, April 30.
Miss Clare said they had come home from a dinner about 10pm and she asked her eldest child, 13-year-old Michael, to put some towels in the wash.
Later the towels went in the dryer and about 11.30pm Michael told Miss Clare he could smell smoke.
She didn't think anything too much of it, believing it was probably a neighbour enjoying a fire in their backyard.
Not too long after Michael's comment, Miss Clare went around the house to lock up before bed.
She noticed "orange, bright orange outside".
Stepping outside, she was shocked to find the laundry alight.
Michael managed to get his younger sister, 11-year-old Mackenzie-Rose, out of bed while Miss Clare grabbed baby Maverick, 1.
We are struggling ... The kids are struggling, they're finding it hard, they're not sleeping.
They all escaped outside to the car and once parked safely on the street, she called firefighters.
When firefighters arrived the house was already well alight. Flames were shooting through the roof.
Nine crews, with a total of 36 firefighters, battled the late-night blaze which they managed to contain at the rear of the home.
But Miss Clare said fire and water damage had destroyed everything inside.
She only managed to grab photos from her bedside table and some clothing on her way out.
"There's literally nothing there I could salvage," she said.
Miss Clare and her children - Michael, Mackenzie-Rose, Mason, 5, Myles, 3, and Maverick - received emergency accommodation in a hotel for three nights.
On Thursday, she was awaiting contact from the government's housing agency to find out the next steps.
The family had lived in the house for 10 years, so for most of Miss Clare's children, it was the only home they had ever known.
The fire is just the latest in a series of traumatic events that have hit Miss Clare in recent years.
"We are struggling ...
"The kids are struggling, they're finding it hard, they're not sleeping," she said.
Her friend, Jessica Raso, has started a GoFundMe online fundraiser to help out the family while they pick up the pieces.
"Just trying to get them back on their feet," Miss Raso explained.
"I just can't imagine losing everything, especially when you've got children... and she's such a lovely person and she's been through so much already."
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Natalie Croxon
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
