Chelsea house fire tears property apart
It took more than 50 firefighters to bring a blaze in Chelsea under control last night, with a CFA captain saying a hazardous feature at the property caused one of the biggest blazes he’d seen. PICTURES, VIDEO
Inner South
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A man is lucky to be alive after a massive house fire ripped through his house in Chelsea last night.
More than 50 firefighters were needed to control the blaze which threatened to engulf neighbouring properties in Tarella Rd.
Edithvale CFA captain Graham Fountain, who was commander at the fire, said it was a “different house fire than normal”.
“The fuel loads on the property were extreme,” he said.
“It was like a hoarder residence with gas cylinders, chemicals, tyres and live ammunition.
“It’s certainly up there as one of the bigger house fires I have seen, it wasn’t the normal typical house fire.”
Mr Fountain said when he arrived just after 9pm the fire had taken hold of the whole house and was beginning to extend to neighbouring properties.
“While the house was lost the great work of everyone involved kept damage to a minimum on neighbouring properties,” he said.
Specialists in dealing with hazardous materials were called in, as well as an aerial appliance from Richmond’s MFB unit.
“We had about 12 trucks, SES, police and ambulances all there,” Mr Fountain said.
Fortunately no one was injured in the fire, with the sole occupant fleeing the building before the fire took hold.
One firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion.
“We ended up getting home at 4am this morning, but Patterson River crews stayed overnight,” Mr Fountain said.
Phil Wall from Chelsea’s SES unit said they were called to the fire just after 10pm to assist with lighting.
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“The massive blaze tore through the weatherboard home and began just after 9pm when neighbours heard a loud explosion,” he said.
“CFA members did an incredible job isolating the fire to the single property.”
Fire crews will return to the house this morning as an investigation gets underway to determine the exact cause of the fire.
Given the extensive damage it’s likely the property will be demolished.
Senior Constable Alistair Parsons said “no one was injured as a result of the fire.”
“The cause of the fire is yet to be determined however is not currently being treated as suspicious.”