Two home owners are counting their losses and blessings this morning after their homes were damaged or destroyed by fire.
A Carrum Downs woman can thank a brave neighbour for alerting her to a fire in the dining room of her Elstar Drive home.
Two smoke detectors fitted to the house failed to sound the alarm due to flat batteries.
The neighbour suffered cuts to his foot after kicking in a window and using a garden hose to fight the fire.
Three CFA crews from Carrum Downs and Patterson River were quickly on scene just before 10am, managing to contain the fire to the dining area in around five minutes.
It’s believed a candle started the fire.
Carrum brigade 3rd Lieutenant Andy Amad said a working smoke alarm could prove to be the difference between life and death.
“If it wasn’t for the quick and couragous actions of a neighbour, the outcome could have been much worse. Something as simple as forgetting to replace the battery in a smoke alarm could have fatal consequences,” Lt. Amad said.
It followed another a fire which destroyed a house at Delehay early this morning.
A resident was lucky to escape safely after fire took hold at around 4.40am.
CFA and MFB crews worked for 40 minutes to bring the blaze under control. The fire caused the roof of the single-storey brick home to collapse. Investigators visited the scene this morning.
The two fires come less than 24 hours after the Chief Officers of MFB and CFA launched a campaign urging Victorians to avoid making potentially disastrous mistakes that could cause fires in the home.
They revealed more Victorians die in house fires than bushfires every year. Learn more about the campaign here.
Author: CFA Media