By ANEEKA SIMONIS
Couple say safety measures gave them precious moments to escape inferno…
A PAKENHAM couple said a fire alarm saved their lives after a blaze destroyed their home on Tuesday night.
Steve Harkin said the alarm gave him and his wife Leanne precious minutes to evacuate their home which caught alight in the early hours of Tuesday, 21 October.
“The smoke detector woke us… we wouldn’t have gotten out if it weren’t for the alarm,” Mr Harkin said as he waited for the fire investigation team to sweep his destroyed home hours after the blaze.
“The heat blew the windows and all the air came rushing in, everything is destroyed.
“Even the lounge suite, it’s just spring, it took everything.”
“We went from the bedroom and the smoke was just billowing, it almost bowled me over. “We got into the laundry and got the dog out then got outside.
“You could just feel the heat coming off the house.
“The CFA got here quickly, but by the time they did, the house was gone.
“There’s nothing you can do when (fire) takes off like that.”
Phil Craig from the Pakenham CFA said five fire trucks from Pakenham and Nar Nar Goon were tasked with fighting the blaze which broke out just after 3am on Tuesday morning.
“The front of the house and roof space was well alight when we arrive.
“We had crews bring apparatus to attempt to control the fire which took around 40 minutes.
“We were there for another couple of hours extinguishing hot spots,” Mr Craig said.
Fire investigators arrived at the home about 8am on Tuesday morning and were still inspecting the house well past noon.
Mr Harkin said the blaze looked like it had been caused by an electrical fault.
“They said they think they’ve found some wires that have been in contact with each other, they were found in the right area from where the smoke started from,” he said of the blaze which is believed to have started in the living room.
The one-storey weatherboard home, which sits on two and a half acres of land, is believed to be about 70 years old.
Though it didn’t affect the rescue effort, Mr Craig said the fire crews had difficulty accessing the nearest fire hydrant which was buried in dirt and grass along the nature strip.
“It serves as a reminder to residents to keep an eye on hydrants or fire plugs in their area and protect them from being overgrown.”
Mr Harkin said Cardinia Shire Council staff inspected the house hours after the blaze and decided that it should be fenced off and demolished.
