Blakeview property goes up in flames leaving housemates trapped in backyard
Hot ashes placed in a bin sparked a ferocious blaze in Adelaide’s north overnight, leaving a group of housemates trapped outside with their pets.
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Four northern suburbs housemates – and their pets – were trapped in the backyard of their Blakeview property overnight after it was engulfed in flames about 2.30am this morning.
The group is now facing a $300,000 bill – with the fire believed to have started 14 hours after they threw hot ashes from a fire pit into a bin.
Shannon Roe, one of the residents, told 7NEWS he “woke up coughing” but went back to sleep thinking he was “being overdramatic”.
“My partner woke up and said ‘do you feel smoke? Do you smell it?’ (so) I went ‘oh, I’ll go check’,” Mr Roe said.
“I walked to the front door and saw the fire (and) told everyone to get out.”
CCTV from the front porch of the house captures the moment the bin of ashes bursts into flames, leaving a trail of destruction in a matter of seconds.
“Oh what the f**k,” Mr Roe can be heard saying as he opened the door.
“Get up, get up, get up.”
The four housemates – who only moved in four months ago – had to be rescued from their backyard by firefighters. They will now live with their respective families until they can find a new home.
One neighbour said over $25,000 worth of gaming equipment had been destroyed in the blaze, but Mr Roe was just grateful there were no serious injuries.
“I’m glad everyone’s safe,” he said
“In the end, it’s just possessions. We can replace those but we can’t replace people.”