Suspicious house fire sparks investigation as separate fires cause half a million dollars in damage
A suspicious southern suburbs house fire has sparked an investigation as separate fires across the state caused almost half a million dollars in damage.
SA News
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A house fire in Adelaide’s southern suburbs has been labelled as suspicious as a series of fires on Tuesday caused half a million dollars in damage.
Smoke was seen billowing from the roof of a home on Melsetter Rd at Huntfield Heights at 6am on Wednesday morning.
Two men and a blue heeler dog managed to escape the fire safely which caused over a quarter of million dollars in damage.
“I actually heard him earlier scream out, ‘it’s my house my house’,” resident Cory McKay told 7News.
Another resident, Shaun Ilott, told 7News he ran out and saw flames twice as high as the roof.
“I could smell smoke and yeah I was looking at the front and there’s a big fire coming out the next door neighbours house just absolutely blazing away,” Mr Ilott said.
“I heard a big bang and saw the roof was actually collapsing in the middle.
MFS crews praised the quick thinking of a passer-by who called the emergency service.
“Thanks to that member of the public who raised the alarm, there was quite an intense fire and we’re just lucky no one was hurt,” MFS crew member Leigh Thomspon told 7News.
Police reportedly seized hydroponic growing equipment, which wasn’t in use.
Crews managed to extinguished the blaze, however the fire completely gutted the home.
No one was injured.
Fire investigators are yet to determine the cause of the fire but believe it is suspicious. They will be attending the home to gather more information.
Police are urging anyone with information that would assist the investigation to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
In an unrelated earlier incident, a house at Stirling North caught alight in a blaze causing $200,000 worth of damage.
25 firefighters across four CFS and three MFS trucks fought the blaze on Willoughby St about 5am on Tuesday.
They were able to contain the fire to one of the bedrooms and roof but a significant amount of damage had already been caused to the structure of the home.
The homeowner was alerted to the fire by a smoke detector, so they were able to quickly evacuate the property and called triple-0 for help.
Initially, the blaze was thought to have been caused by children playing with matches but fire investigators are scheduled to attend for further investigations.
SA Power Networks, SA Ambulance Service and SA Police also attended the scene to assist fire crews on Tuesday.
Crews stayed at the home for some time to ensure the fire did not reignite.
Meanwhile, a tractor caught on fire on a property in a small Yorke Peninsula town on Tuesday afternoon.
14 CFS volunteer firefighters on three trucks rushed to the intersection of Clinton Rd and Bridgman Rd at Maitland about 3.30pm.
Once crews, along with SA Police and local farm fire units, arrived at the property they found a tractor engulfed in flames.
The tractor was unable to be salvaged, however crews stopped the blaze from spreading to the surrounding crop.
Investigators were unable to determine what caused the fire and crews have estimated it caused about $250k worth of damage.
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