BY IAN CROUCH
Police and fire investigators are looking into whether an e-bike left on charge was responsible for a devastating townhouse fire at Mayfield overnight.
Eight fire trucks and around 50 firefighters were called to the row of Department of Housing townhouses in Elizabeth Street just before 6.00pm on Wednesday 9 September to find one two level unit engulfed in flames.
Newcastle Fire Command says no-one was inside the unit at the time and 10 occupants from the complex were safely evacuated without injury.
It took about an hour to bring the blaze under control, with crews remaining on scene until just after midnight to mop up and make the area safe.
Fire investigators will arrive on Thursday morning to confirm the cause of the fire.
While the blaze was confined to one unit, there are concerns about the structural integrity of the remaining townhouses.
