Firefighters in Upwey were called to a going house fire last night (21 July) at around 7:45pm
The fire started in the ducted heating unit in the roof of the home and quickly started spreading.
The home had no working smoke alarms, thankfully they were alerted to the fire when they lost power and the family dog started barking. They rang 000 and evacuated the building safely while waiting for crews.
Upwey Fire Brigade were holding a meeting at the station and were able to respond to the call immediately, once on scene OIC Greg Leslie sent four firefighters in BA for an internal attack which stopped the fire spreading to the rest of the house and containing the damage to the room of origin.
There were around 20 volunteer firefighters (and four trucks) from Upwey, Belgrave and Bayswater who assisted in the firefight and helped bring the fire under control in 30 minutes.
This is a timely reminder to clean and service all heating units, fires like this are common in Winter and can be easily avoided. It is also important to regularly test your smoke alarm and replace the batteries annually.
Only working smoke alarms save lives.
Author: Ryan Vanderhorst