DAMAGE stimated at more than $200,000 was caused by preventable house fires in Whittlesea and Hume in June, according to new figures released last week.
Metropolitan Fire Brigade and Country Fire Authority figures show that 13 of the 331 preventable house fires across the state occurred in the two municipalities in the first month of winter.
In Whittlesea, the MFB attended five preventable house fires in June which caused about $120,600 worth of damage, while the CFA attended two fires that led to a damage bill of about $16,000.
In Hume, the two agencies attended six house fires, which caused damage totalling about $67,920.
The CFA said there were 11 house fires in Hume in June last year.
Both fire authorities said many of the house fires, which caused more than $7 million damage to property across the state in June this year, were caused by unattended cooking or electrical faults.
The MFB reported 19 per cent of fires were caused by unattended cooking, while the CFA said 36 per cent of fires it attended started in the kitchen, with 20 per cent of those caused by unattended cooking. The agencies said there were 53 house fires in Hume and 26 in Whittlesea during the first six months this year.
CFA senior officer Anthony Pearce said people overloading electrical power boards and leaving candles unattended also contributed to house fires.
MFB assistant chief fire officer Rob Purcell and CFA community safety manager David Allen said people had to be aware of the risks.
“You just can’t afford to risk leaving cooking unattended, even for a minute,” Mr Purcell said. “We see time and time again the devastation caused by those few moments of distraction in the kitchen.”
Mr Allen said: “Every fire that does occur is at best a financial loss and at worst a tragedy.”
Seven MFB units attended a house fire at Kingston Town Crescent in Mill Park on Tuesday last week.
A neighbour tried to extinguish the fire with a garden hose but his efforts were hampered by strong winds. By the time firefighters were on the scene the two-storey house was fully alight. It took them 25 minutes to control the blaze, which caused extensive damage.
tmurray@mmpgroup.com.au
