House fires spark winter warning

Firefighters responded to three house fires in Collie on Good Friday, prompting calls for homeowners to check their chimneys and flues ahead of winter.
In what is being described as an “unusual” spate of fires that could have been a lot worse, the blazes were extinguished quickly by firefighters.
The first call was received about 7am when an incorrectly fitted flue sparked a blaze at a home on Swanstone Street.
That fire caused $500 in damage.
Firefighters then responded to a triple-zero call about 12.30pm on Hutton Street where residents were concerned the blaze had spread to the ceiling, but the fire was contained to the flue and there was no financial damage.
The final call out was about 4.20pm when another fire was also contained to the flue of a home on McKinley Street.
Department of Fire and Emergency Services Bunbury acting district officer Ian Joseph said the spate of fires was unusual.
“You’d expect one or two over the first few weeks of winter as the weather gets a bit cooler, but to have three in one day is a bit unusual,” Mr Joseph said.
He said it was the responsibility of homeowners and residents to safe-check their homes ahead of winter.
“In regards to chimney fires, it’s sort of incumbent on the owners to make sure that first of all their wood heater is installed correctly by a reputable provider and supplier,” he said.
“Also before each winter they should look at getting their chimneys or flues cleaned, because you do get a build-up of soot and residue inside the flu and chimney which can catch fire.”
He said if there was cracking in brickwork it made it easy for fires to spread to the roof space, where the most damage could be caused.
“It can get into the roof space and that’s where we have major structural fires which we don’t want,” he said.
He said residents could buy additives from hardware stores that help burn off residue, but there were also experts who could clean flues or chimneys.
“It’s pretty important, it’s probably one of those things that people tend to forget about,” he said.
“It’s definitely one of those issues that you need to consider and get done ... because once you have a chimney fire they’re reasonably hard for a home owner to extinguish and the brigades need to come out and put them out.”
He also said it was a timely reminder for residents and homeowners to make sure their smoke alarms were working and have other emergency plans in place.
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