A timber cottage at New Lambton has been totally destroyed and two others damaged after a suspicious fire overnight.
Fire and Rescue NSW received a number of Triple Zero calls just before midnight about a house being well alight on Lambton Road.
When fire crews arrived the weatherboard house was fully engulfed – due to the amount of fire that crews were faced with at the front of the house, firefighters also started to extinguish the blaze from a laneway at the rear of the house.
It took a couple of hours for the fire to be put out and the cottage was totally destroyed. The cottages on either side also suffered some damage as well as three cars that were parked out the front.
The fire was out by around 1:50am.
The property was vacant at the time and neighbouring residents were safely evacuated with no reports of any injuries.
Fire investigators are on the scene today to figure out what caused the fire and are being assisted by an Ignitable Liquid Detection Dog to see if there was liquid somewhere that could have ignited the blaze.
Newcastle Police officers have established a crime scene and are asking the public to get in touch with them or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 if you have any information on the fire, dashcam footage or CCTV.