By CASEY NEILL
AN EXTREME increase in house fire injuries and fatalities has prompted a CFA plea for care.
Region 8 operations manager Trevor Owen last Wednesday told the News his crews had attended five fires in the previous 48 hours, including one in Hoddle Court, Cranbourne.
“In the last two weeks we’ve had 19 house fires,” he said.
“This time of year we do experience an increase because people are inside. But it’s been unusually high even for winter.
“We’re quite concerned about the trend that we’re seeing at the moment.
“We don’t want to see any more people get seriously injured or be a fire fatality.
“We’re the last line of defence. All this is about trying to prevent fire.”
Mr Owen said cooking mishaps, faulty appliances, electric blankets and unmaintained heating systems were behind many of the blazes.
“In the southern metropolitan region, I can’t recall a time where we’ve had the amount of fire fatalities and serious injuries since the start of the year,” he said.
“The figures that we’re seeing are extreme.”
He said some fire victims were alcohol-affected.
“They come home and are trying to cook and falling asleep,” he said.
“They wake up to find out that their kitchen’s on fire.”
Mr Owen said some homes involved did not have smoke alarms, or they were fitted but not operating.
“There’s no excuse these days not to have a smoke alarm,” he said.
“They’re a cheap item. Check the smoke alarm battery on a monthly basis.
“That’s your lifeline.”
He said people should have a smoke alarm on the outside of their bedroom.
“If you’ve got children and they have their door closed, you should have one on the inside as well,” he said.
“Once the smoke alarm goes off, it’s about having a plan then to get out.
“That should be rehearsed, or at the very least talked about.”
Mr Owen urged people to listen out for smoke alarms in neighbouring properties.
“It’s up to them to make a conscious effort to go and check on the neighbour if they hear it for a period of time,” he said.
“They should be going across and observing. If they smell smoke, call the fire brigade.
“The earlier we’re notified, the earlier we can intervene.
“We’re completely reliant on the public or the occupant notifying us.”
He said today’s furnishings were very different to those from 30 or 40 years ago.
“We used a lot of natural products, which were combustible but it would take a little while for them to get going,” he said.
“Now a lot of our materials are man-made, which is based on an oil or petroleum-based product or a chemical.
“We’re actually arriving on scene within a few minutes of the receipt of the call, but what we’re finding is that the house or the room is totally engulfed.”
