General News
21 August, 2019
Fires doused
TERANG and district homeowners have been reminded to ensure household stoves are clean and safe, after two stove fires broke out at two Terang homes earlier this week.
TERANG and district homeowners have been reminded to ensure household stoves are clean and safe, after two stove fires broke out at two Terang homes earlier this week.
The first fire broke out at an Emeny Street address at about 5pm on Monday.
A Country Fire Authority (CFA) spokesperson said four tankers attended the scene and controlled the flame within about nine minutes.
“All residents evacuated safely and the fire was contained to the stove,” he said.
A second stove fire ignited at a Grey Street address at about 10.57am on Tuesday, with the Terang and Noorat units attending the flame, bringing the situation under control within about 13 minutes.
A CFA spokesperson said cooking areas should always be carefully supervised at all times to prevent fires.
“The most common place in the home where fires start is the kitchen,” the spokesperson said.
“Many kitchen fires are caused by cooking that has been left unattended.
“Others are caused by electrical faults and flammable items like paper towels and curtains that are too close to sources of heat like the stove or toaster.”
A CFA spokesperson said cleaning all cooking appliances regularly also helps reduce the risk of ignition or the flame spreading further.
“If the cooking area is not kept clean, a fire that starts on the stove can very quickly spread to built-up grease and fat around the stove and rangehood, with the fire travelling up into the roof and to the rest of the house,” the spokesperson said.