Licensee of the agency Edwin Smith said that it was the second attempt at setting fire to the office.

“Two weeks ago they sprayed kerosene through the front door and lit it, but it either went out or they were interrupted and all they did was damage the wall and carpet near the entrance,” he said.

In Sunday night’s attack the arsonist used a rock to smash the glass in the front door to gain entry into the building.

“They sprayed some kind of accelerant throughout the office and lit it,” he said.

“It’s completely gutted, melted computers and printers, carpet, reception desk all destroyed.”

Mr Smith said that he was appalled to discover that the arsonist had put the lives of those living upstairs at risk.

“Luckily they heard the crash of the glass and then saw the flames and were able to call the emergency services and they weren’t hurt,” he said.

Mr Smith said that he had his suspicions about who had lit the fire but was leaving that to the authorities.

Officer in charge at Bathurst Police Station David Abercrombie said that the fire was being treated as suspicious and that forensic investigations were continuing.

“Forensic services group have conducted their investigations and have seized a number of things as evidence which will be further analysed,” he said.

In the meantime Mr Smith will be continuing on with his business.

“I’ll be doing everything online and working out what to do, maybe open another office in town, but for now we’re working from home,” he said. 

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

All information will be treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report crime on NSW Police social media pages.