Sydney Teens rescued from fire started by charging electric bike

Firefighters forced open the door of a locked room to rescue three teenagers from a burning apartment in Sydney, after hearing their screams.

Crews tackled a fire in the downstairs business on John Street, Lidcombe at 1am, when they heard people shouting for help in the apartment above.

Wearing breathing apparatus firefighters went from room to room of the second floor apartment, looking for people, shouting “where are you?”

After hearing a reply, firefighter Cem Dincer broke open the door and found two teenage girls and a boy, huddled by a bed.

Dincer guided the teens to a rescue ladder placed against an open window.

“I was so happy when I saw those two girls in there,” he said.

The teens were not seriously hurt, and the rescue was captured by the firefighter’s helmet camera.

Fire crews say an e-bike, charging in a downstairs kitchen, started the fire.

Fire and Rescue NSW said the last person inside the shop, a 31-year-old man already escaped before they arrived.

Incident controller Timothy Horder said the teens did the right thing by closing their door.

“By closing their bedroom door, that action thought to have saved their lives,” he said.