House destroyed by fire on Yan Yean Rd, Doreen

With a heatwave forecast this week, firefighters will monitor the ruins of a house destroyed by fire in Doreen for hot spots. Up to 27 crews battled last night’s blaze in difficult conditions.

A large crew of firefighters battled the blaze. Picture: Doreen CFA

Firefighters battled difficult conditions to extinguish a huge house fire in Doreen yesterday, with the property full of flammable materials including chemicals.

The Doreen CFA was called to the fire at the semirural property on Yan Yean Rd at 4.30pm on January 22, and found the house fully alight.

Investigators will return to the scene today to determine the cause of the fire.

Fire crews are also monitoring the ruins for further breakouts.

DOGS RESCUED FROM BLAZE AT WELCOME BOARDING KENNELS & CATTERY

PRIVATE FIREWORKS APPROVED DESPITE RISKS OF BUSHFIRES

Brigade captain Chris Maries said he believed the fire had been burning for some time before crews were alerted.

“When we arrived on scene we found the house well alight and fully involved with fire and the area surrounding the house was also involved,” Mr Maries said.

“Material was burning both inside the house, adjacent to the house and 10-20m away from the house in a couple of spots.”

Firefighters mop up after extinguishing the blaze. Picture: Doreen CFA.

Mr Maries said access to the fire was difficult but were able to successfully tackle the blaze within minutes of arriving.

“This site was particularly difficult as it had a lot of combustible materials, including building waste, green waste, chemicals, and fuels and oils,” he said.

“There was potential for the fire to spread.”

An extra 27 CFA units, including four breathing apparatus teams, were called in from surrounding brigades to bring the blaze under control.

A firefighter at the scene. Picture: Doreen CFA

The SES, Ambulance Victoria and Victoria Police were also called to the scene.

“We had the fire under control in about two and a half hours but there was still a lot of work that had to be done,” Mr Maries said.

“An excavator was called in to demolish the house because it was too dangerous to put people inside.”

The house was completely destroyed, but Mr Maries said good work from fire crews prevented it from spreading further.

Firefighters at the scene.

“I think the fact the fire was contained by the initial units on scene was an excellent outcome — I don’t believe there was any hope of saving the house,” Mr Maries said.

“But preventing the fire from spreading to other materials on site and the neighbouring property was an excellent outcome and it was a very complex job.”

Mr Maries said crews would monitor the site for the next few days to check for hot spots, especially with the hot weather forecast.

Nillumbik Council spokesman Licardo Prince said it was aware of community concerns about the property, particularly at this time of year, and had been working with the property owner to address issues relating to fire safety, condition of property and on-site rubbish.

Mr Prince said council officers were investigating a complaint from November 2018 in relation to the dumping of rubbish and soil on the property and had been speaking to the property owner on fire prevention issues to address the immediate risks as a priority.

He said as it was an active investigation, it would be inappropriate to go into further detail.

Mr Prince said the dwelling on the property had been demolished for safety reasons and council was working through the best way to remove flammable rubbish and slashing of long grass to mitigate the immediate fire risks.

He said council’s planning and community safety teams were dealing with legal compliance issues under relevant legislation regarding the rubbish and condition of the property.

The council has also alerted the Environment Protect Authority to the issue.

MORE NEWS

SHOCK DIAGNOSIS SPARKS CHARITY MISSION

IS THIS MELBOURNE’S NEW SNAKE HOTSPOT?