SYDNEY, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- A man has died in a house fire in western Sydney that authorities believe was sparked by a lithium-ion battery.

Police said that emergency services were called to reports of a fire at a house in Guildford, 20 km west of central Sydney, shortly before 5 a.m. local time on Tuesday.

Fire and rescue teams arrived at the scene and managed to extinguish the blaze, which had caused extensive damage.

Five occupants of the house managed to escape, but a man was found inside. He was treated by ambulance paramedics, but died at the scene.

Police have established a crime scene and commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the fire.

Mick Morris from the fire and rescue service told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio that early investigations indicated that a battery from an e-bike started the fire.

"For us, this is a real tragedy because this is three lithium-ion battery events in the last 24 hours, and it's a significant concern for us," he said. "We have been warning that it was likely we would see a fatality."

He encouraged people to be "very cautious" with how they charge batteries.

Fire and rescue commissioner Jeremy Fewtrell said earlier in February that authorities were responding to more than one lithium-ion battery fire per day on average. Enditem

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