Although not yet formally identified, it's believed the man who was tragically killed in a shed fire at Morisset overnight was the 70-year-old male occupant.
Fire crews responded to several calls to Triple Zero just after 2 o'clock this morning following reports a granny flat in the rear of a property on Stockton Street had gone up in flames.
Crews quickly extinguished the blaze containing it before it spread to neighbouring properties and buildings, fighting flames which were reportedly15 metres high.
Once the fire was extinguished, they made the grim discovery and a crime scene was established.
"When the fire was extinguished and the scene examined the body of a male person was located inside that granny flat. Detectives were called to the scene and subsequently started an investigation and will prepare a report for the coroner," said Crime Manager Detective Inspector Craig Davis.
"We believe at this stage the deceased may be the 70-year-old occupant but that, of course, is not confirmed and further identification process will be conducted forensically," said Detective Inspector Davis.
The granny flat was completely destroyed.
Michael who lives next door told Nine News he was in complete shock this morning.
"It was a bit of a shock when I spoke to the detectives here and he showed me a photo of his license and just bang, it hit me like a tonne of bricks,"
"He was alright, he was a very honest bloke, very outgoing and this is a real big shock for me."
Detective Inspector Davis believes it was the quick work of firefighters on the scene that stopped the blaze from spreading.A man’s body has been discovered in a shed that was destroyed by fire near Lake Macquarie: https://t.co/Qwi3E33quc pic.twitter.com/70oRccN0vf— NBN News (@nbnnews) December 4, 2017
"Very lucky. The fire brigade were on the scene fairly quickly and the fire brigade was called fairly quickly. It's a residential area so they're lucky they got to it early."
Anyone who has any information, or saw anything this morning, are urged to contact Crime Stopper on 1800 333 000
Anyone who has any information, or saw anything this morning, are urged to contact Crime Stopper on 1800 333 000
