Update:
A MAN has been arrested after a suspicious fire that ripped through a West Tamworth unit on Thursday afternoon.
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The 50-year-old man is in custody and being questioned by investigators at Tamworth police station.
Police confirmed the man was arrested at the scene of the blaze on Warral Road, and taken into custody.
It is understood the 50-year-old man was still assisting police with their inquiries late on Thursday afternoon.
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No charges have been laid.
Firefighters handed the scene over to police detectives when the fire was extinguished, just before 3pm.
The cause behind the flames erupting inside the unit is still being investigated, but it is being treated as suspicious.
The ground-floor unit at the Warral Road complex was "severely damaged" in the blaze, and a unit next door was affected by smoke and water.
Earlier:
FIRE has ripped through a West Tamworth home on Thursday afternoon.
A unit in a complex on Warral Road went up in flames just after 1:30pm, sparking an emergency response.
Police, firefighters and ambulance paramedics rushed to the scene, and found the building "well alight".
FRNSW Zone Commander Superintendent Tom Cooper told the Leader efforts to douse the flames were hindered when crews had to flee the building briefly.
"Firies had to withdraw when the electrical wires started arcing," he said.
"Essential Energy had to come and cut the power off."
Firefighters then re-entered and started "mopping up" the mess the fire had made as flames ravaged the unit.
Superintendent Cooper said the unit where the fire started had been "severely damaged", and the rooms next door had also been affected by smoke and water.
It is understood no one was hurt in the fire.
Oxley police remained on the scene on Thursday afternoon, combing the area.
Firefighters handed the scene over to detectives once the fire was extinguished. The cause of the fire is being investigated.