Hallam residents Kim Aboujaber, front, and Clay Peresso had to rebuild a pergola this week after a fire broke out at Mr Peresso’s birthday party on Saturday. Picture: Mike Richards.
By Rebecca Fraser
A SURPRISE party became a hot affair on the weekend when the pergola of a Hallam home went up in flames following a late-night mishap.
Clay Peresso was celebrating his 23rd birthday with about 30 friends on Saturday night when a fire erupted in the backyard of his Edinborough Street home about 1am.
The blaze started when best friend Kim Aboujaber poured petrol on to a small campfire in a bid to give the flames a boost.
Nothing happened the first time, but when the Hallam resident tipped more petrol on, the fumes ignited and the jerry can he was holding caught alight.
Mr Aboujaber found himself holding a ball of fire, and amid fears the can might explode, he kicked it away in the direction of the garage.
However, it rolled back towards the house and by that stage the roof of the backyard pergola was ablaze.
Mr Peresso said everyone’s first instinct was to grab a hose and water down the fire, but this further fuelled the flames.
“We found out later that putting water on it was not the right thing to do,” Mr Peresso said.
“It just became three times worse and in 30-odd seconds it was out of control and everyone was running around trying to stop it.”
A woollen blanket was then used to subdue the flames before the Hallam CFA arrived and doused the blaze.
Mr Peresso said he was glad the fire had not reached the house or garage and that his girlfriend’s car had not caught alight.
“I was running around trying to find her keys to move it, so it was lucky the fire did not spread,” he said.
Mr Peresso said he was pleased that no one had been seriously hurt and added that everyone had learnt from the experience.
Mr Aboujaber was taken to Casey Hospital to receive treatment to a blistered leg and on Sunday the pair and other partygoers were left cleaning up the mess.
“Someone emptied the kitchen bin and was trying to fill it up with water. There was rubbish everywhere, so we had to clean that up,” he said.
Hallam CFA fire officer Michael Lia said this week that many people often thought water was the answer when fires broke out.
Mr Lia said when water was used to fight fires involving flammable liquids, the liquid in fact floated on top of the water and helped the fire spread.
He said using a blanket to smother the flames was a good option but people needed to make sure that the blanket was not acrylic because this would simply melt.
Mr Lia stressed the advantages of household’s owning a fire blanket.
“Fire blankets are very advantageous and are an excellent piece of equipment to have in the home.
“It puts a barrier between you and the fire,” he said.
