The former home of disgraced deputy mayor Salim Mehajer, whose infamous wedding shut down a street in the Sydney suburb of Lidcombe, has been damaged in what authorities say is a suspicious fire.
The six-bedroom home was unoccupied around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday night when neighbors heard an alarm on the property and saw flames coming from the second floor.
They also saw a man dressed in black run from the property.
The front door was open and, although firefighters were able to put out the fire within 20 minutes, the interior suffered significant damage in that time.
The damage probably would have been worse if it hadn’t been for the lack of furniture inside to feed it.
“Responding firefighters have identified some areas of serious concern about how the fire started,” NSW Fire and Rescue Superintendent Adam Dewberry said.
“All of our firefighters are trained to at least identify burn patterns and fire behavior, and have identified areas that are not consistent with an accidental fire.”
Police have prepared the crime scene and an investigation into the origin of the fire is underway.
The former home of disgraced deputy mayor Salim Mehajer, whose infamous wedding (pictured) had to be shut down on a street, has been damaged in what authorities say is a suspicious fire.
The damage to the house (pictured) would probably have been worse had it not been for the lack of furniture inside to power it.
Forensic officers were at the home on Wednesday afternoon and were seen taking fingerprints from the damaged front door, which appeared to have been forced open.
Broken glass was also visible in television footage taken by 9News at the scene.
The fire is believed to have been deliberately started on the second floor, at the top of a marble staircase.
More to come…