Dubbo and district householders are being warned about "ember attack" as temperatures rise.
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As of Tuesday Fire and Rescue NSW brigades had extinguished three "house fires" at Narromine, Brocklehurst and Dubbo across the previous week.
Dubbo-based Inspector Anthony Hojel told of them when warning residents to "prepare for fires" in heatwave conditions.
Top temperatures at Dubbo this week have been forecast by the Bureau of Meteorology to peak at 40 degrees Celsius on Thursday.
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Inspector Hojel urged residents to clean out gutters, remove combustible materials in yards and have a hose at the ready to "put out little spot fires".
"Embers coming from a fire can go a long distance," he said.
"If you've got trees around and there's leaves in your gutters or combustible materials around your house, they can ignite.
The crews will all make sure there is additional water in the trucks and they are staying well hydrated.
- Fire and Rescue NSW Inspector Anthony Hojel
"We do find a number of houses do catch fire due to embers and not so much from flames."
Inspector Hojel said a block of three units was destroyed at Narromine last week after "cooking was left unattended".
"The cooking caught fire and the occupant put water on the fire which then expanded it and the unit caught fire," he said
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"Adjoining units, due to the weather conditions, caught fire as well.
"The occupant was taken to hospital with minor injuries."
Inspector Hojel said investigations were continuing into the house fire at Brocklehurst while a fire in an industrial bin had set alight a Dubbo house, causing "minor damage".
Fire and Rescue NSW brigades have prepared for the heatwave.
"The crews will all make sure there is additional water in the trucks and they are staying well hydrated," Inspector Hojel said.
"When you are fighting fires your body can lose up to a litre of water an hour."
He said crews would be "out and about".
"They will have a look at the area to make sure there's nobody burning off and attend to any threats of fire," Inspector Hojel said.
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On Tuesday the bureau was predicting daily top temperatures at Dubbo of 37 degrees on Tuesday, 38 on Wednesday, 40 on Thursday, 39 on Friday, 36 on Saturday, 34 on Sunday and 35 on Monday.
The average maximum temperature at Dubbo during the month of November is 28.7 degrees.
The bureau is forecasting the "chance of a thunderstorm" on Friday and Saturday and a 20 per cent chance of showers on Sunday and Monday.
