Left and below: It took over 350 By Melissa Meehan
A TWO-CAR crash at the intersection of Power Road and Churchill Park Drive left Endeavour Hills residents fearing for their homes in the scorching heat on Friday.
The crash caused one of the cars to burst into flames on impact.
Flames from the car quickly set long dry grass alight along the side of the road and the fire rapidly spread to nearby paddocks.
More than 350 firefighters including CFA volunteers battled the blaze for over eight hours on Friday.
They were joined by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade, CFA Department of Sustainable Environment, Parks Victoria staff and assisted by more than 80 fire vehicles and four “Elvis style” helicopters.
Local brigades from Endeavour Hills, Rowville, Hallam and Narre Warren battled in extreme temperatures and tricky terrain with the fire threatening Churchill Park Golf Club and many houses.
Geoff Deacon, Community Education co-ordinator CFA Yarra Area, said that the fire sat on the boundary of the CFA’s Westernport Region and Yarra Region so both areas were able to combine and contain the blaze to 45 hectares.
“We all worked together,” Mr Deacon said.
“The 44-degree heat and strong wind change made it difficult to contain but we were able to control it by 8pm Friday night.”
He said firefighters continued to monitor and blackout the scene until Monday.
Allen Inderwisch, Casey Traffic Management Unit Acting Sergeant who was at the scene said the two vehicles collided about 11.50am.
“After the collision one car caught on fire and it spread to the surrounding Police Paddocks Reserve,” Act Sgt Inderwisch said.
“As a result of the collision two people received minor injuries and were cared for by ambulance officers.”
Road closures surrounding the fire continued throughout the weekend, halting Endeavour Hills’ charge towards the VSDCA 1st XI cricket finals on Saturday.
Meanwhile, houses were threatened and roads thrown into chaos as firefighters battled to control a blaze in Berwick on the same day.
Believed to have been caused by a cigarette butt thrown from a vehicle on the freeway, the fire started on the edge of the Princes Freeway below Clyde Road around 2.15pm.
Houses adjoining the freeway along Golf Links Road were under serious threat.
Monica Bosch, who lives along Golf Links Road, told the News she was in her house when a neighbour bashed on the front door, yelling that there was a fire outside.
Ms Bosch, her husband and 18-year-old daughter grabbed the garden hose and started fighting the fire.
“The flames were twice as high as the trees,” she said.
The fire caused no damage to the family’s home, despite it burning through several neighbours’ fences.
“It was a scary feeling but at the same time you do what you have to do,” she said.
“And it’s the survival instinct that kicks in.”
Police closed off Clyde Road between the freeway and Bemersyde Drive and the inbound lanes of the freeway.
