BY IAN CROUCH
A lit cigarette is being blamed for a devastating house fire at Kotara overnight.
20 firefighters from five stations were called to a single level weatherboard home on Park Avenue just after 10 o'clock on Wednesday night.
Police say a lit cigarette sparked the fire in the garage which quickly spread to the home.
The garage has been destroyed and the house severely damaged.
The male owner occupier, who was the only person home at the time, was taken to hospital with smoke inhalation.
Police say the home was partly vacated when the fire broke out.
