FIREFIGHTERS had a busy 24 hours attending two major house fires in the city yesterday.
Mount Gambier Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) crews were spurred into action for the second time yesterday afternoon when they were called to a structure fire on Burcham Street.
It followed a blaze just nine hours earlier on Barcoo Road, where 19 firefighters from the MFS and Country Fire Service had to rescue a 70-year-old male occupant who became trapped in his front yard.
Surrounded by bushes and shrub, firefighters used a chainsaw to cut a hole in the hedge to free the man who had suffered burns to his chest and airways.
He was transported to the Mount Gambier Hospital before being airlifted to Adelaide after medical professionals became concerned with the damage to his airways.
Mount Gambier MFS retained station officer Rob Baker said police located the man in the front of his yard when they arrived at the premises.
“The house was surrounded by heavy shrub and when we arrived the front of the man’s house was fully involved with fire,” Mr Baker said.
“He was trapped in the front yard and could not get past the fire, so we had to cut a hole in the hedge to get him out.”
Mr Baker said firefighters remained on scene for a couple of hours to extinguish the fire.
The damage bill was estimated at around $200,000.
Fire cause investigators attended the scene yesterday morning to try and determine was caused the blaze.
The MFS were first called to the Burcham Street fire at around 1.30pm after a fire started in a bedroom of the house.
The blaze caused the ceiling to collapse making it difficult for firefighters to access the fire and extinguish it accordingly.
Mount Gambier MFS station officer Phil Wood said there were no occupants in the house when the blaze was reported.
“We got the report of smoke coming from the building and when we arrived we saw it coming out of the eves,” he said.
“Two firefighters in breathing apparatus search the house and were able to locate the source of the fire in a rear bedroom.”
Mr Wood said a high pressure-line was used to contain the fire to the one bedroom, however smoke caused damage to the entire house.
Crews also used the Combination Aerial Pumping Appliance (CAPA) to access the roof and extinguish the fire from above.
Picture: TODD LEWIS
At one stage, emergency services were seen to be scrambling when a firefighter emerged from the house with what appeared to be a baby.
Occupants of the house quickly informed the police and MFS that it was a “life-like doll” and there were a number of others throughout the home.
Authorities could be seen having a collective ‘sigh of relief’ when they realised it was not real.
Mr Wood said a pet snake survived the fire.
He estimated the damage bill to be around $60,000.
“It is good time to give a safety warning for home owners to not overload powerboards with electrical items,” Mr Wood said.
