EVERYBODY NEEDS GOOD NEIGHBOURS … IT COULD SAVE YOUR HOME!

At 3.15 on Friday afternoon we were called to a house on fire in Woodend. Fortunately it was very close to the fire station and Woodend Pumper arrived on scene very quickly. Two fire fighters in BA made quick and forceable entry into the property, which had no-one at home at the time. They discovered the fire to be in a mattress in a bedroom and extinguished the fire source. In the meantime Macedon Tanker arrived and two more BA members were able to enter the scene, while the Incident Controller called for more BA Support through Kyneton Pumper. Those inside then began to open doors and windows to ventilate the property. The sole resident at the time worked nearby and was notified, and arrived to assist with investigation. It was then discovered the fire had been discovered by two adjoining neighbours who arrived home to see the smoke, and called 000.

As the property was a unit away from the road, the fire could have burnt a lot longer before it was discovered and the damage would have been significantly worse. Fortunately, the volunteer crews were able to keep the fire to the one room, with some smoke and water damage to other parts of the property. Roof spaces were also thoroughly inspected. LESSON TO LEARN: If you are going to be away from your home or property for a while, it would be a good idea to close the doors to rooms. That way a fire can be isolated to that room more easily, and then not spread quickly through the rest of the property. For example, one other bedroom had its door closed and it was untouched by any smoke damage. A good save by the crews … but especially the neighbours!