Bathurst police appeal for information after Havannah Street home destroyed by fire

Emergency services were called to the scene, opposite Bathurst Sportsground, about 8.30pm and arrived to find the home well alight.

A single female occupant inside the house at the time managed to escape the blaze but the home could not be saved.

A vehicle parked beside the house was also destroyed.

Chifley local area command duty officer Inspector Mark Wall said a gas fire made fighting the blaze particularly difficult for firefighters, with a ruptured mains sending a spectacular flare high into the sky.

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"It took about an hour and a half to turn the gas mains off so the firefighters could bring the blaze under control," he said.

"At this stage we cannot say what started the fire but as soon as the fire brigade give the all-clear we will start a forensic investigation to try and determine the cause."

Inspector Wall asked for anyone who witnessed the fire, and anyone who may have footage of the fire, to contact police.

"Sometimes investigators can look at the footage taken by neighbours and determine how the fire is burning and what may have started it," he said.

Three fire crews from the Bathurst station attended the Havannah Street fire along with a single crew from Kelso.

A crew from Lithgow West was called in to cover the Bathurst station while crews remained on the scene.

However, the city's firefighting forces were stretched to the limit when officers received another call for help in Kelso and arrived to find it had been a hoax call.