Forty firefighters and ten trucks were called to a home in Abbotsford about 4am on Tuesday after the property was found well alight. An 88-year-old woman, her son and his wife were rescued and taken to hospital for smoke inhalation. A 49-year-old man who climbed a ladder to save the elderly woman was also taken to hospital, police said. Another man, described by police as a long-term renter at the home, received treatment but did not require hospitalisation.
Police said a neighbour confronted a male wearing a balaclava. The 17-year-old was arrested about 11pm on Tuesday at a home in Merrylands, and was treated for burns to his hands and legs before being taken to hospital. He remains in a stable condition.
A search warrant was carried out at the home, with detectives seizing "a number of items of interest", police said. The teenager has been charged with damaging property by fire or explosion to a value of more than $15,000, being carried in a conveyance taken without the owner's consent, and obtaining property by deception. He was refused bail and is expected to appear before Parramatta Bail Division Court on Wednesday.