At approximately 8.30pm on 27 September, a Churchill man was woken by a smoke alarm sounding after he had fallen asleep on the couch while cooking dinner.
Waking to find his stove on fire and quickly spreading into the range hood, cupboards and roof, he attempted to extinguish it with a fire blanket. He then called Triple Zero and left the house to wait for the fire brigade to arrive.
When the brigade arrived crews wearing breathing apparatus entered the house and knocked down the fire with a dry chemical extinguisher before continuing with hose lines. they dismantled the range hood and ceiling above the stove to ensure the fire had not spread into the roof and was completely out, containing the damaged area to the kitchen.
The man was treated by Ambulance Victoria for smoke inhalation and taken to Latrobe Regional Hospital for observations.
This incident serves as a reminder that working smoke alarms save lives.