Woman dead after Footscray house fire
A PORTABLE heater left too close to flammable items has been found as the cause of a tragic fatal fire in West Footscray.
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A PORTABLE heater left too close to flammable items has been found as the cause of a fatal fire in West Footscray.
Firefighters have also said a lack of smoke alarms, piles of belongings in the house and the occupant’s physical disabilities were contributing factors to the tragic incident.
The body of 62-year-old Gaye Pace was found in the upstairs bedroom of the home early on Sunday morning, while 69-year-old Lesley Torney escaped with minor injuries.
Investigators last night said a portable heater had caused the blaze and may have been left too close to flammable items in the downstairs living room of the Clive St house.
Police believe the older woman was the carer of the woman who died.
Emergency services were called to the blaze just before 12.30am, and it took 40 fire-fighters almost 40 minutes to bring the fatal fire under control.
“There were two portable heaters and we believe towels were near the heaters and that may have caused the fire to start,” Footscray Senior Constable Mark Abela said.
“There are no signs of smoke alarms and no smoke alarms were heard.”
The investigation is ongoing but is not being treated as suspicious.
MFB Commander Roger Chitty said winter was one of the most dangerous times for fires and urged Melburnians to get their fire alarms and heaters checked.
“It concerns the MFB greatly if there were no smoke alarms operable in the house,” he said.
“If people have smoke alarms they can have an early warning and be able to self-evacuate.”
Commander Chitty said the home was full of belongings and there were wheelchairs on the property.
“There is a lot of fire load in the house and where there is fuel load in the house as such it makes firefighting very difficult,” he said.
Neighbours described waking up to screams as a fatal fire ripped through a house in West Footscray overnight.
Maria, who declined to give her last name, said by the time she woke the fire was ripping through the home across the street from her own.
“I could hear a lady screaming,” she told the Herald Sun.
“I can’t believe how fast the fire spread though the whole house.”
She praised the efforts of emergency services.
“The police did everything they could,” Maria added. “They just threw themselves in there.”
Felipe Ubilla’s house backs onto the gutted property.
He was woken to “pops and bangs”, which he initially dismissed as fireworks.
“But then I stuck my head out and I saw the glow of the fire,” he said.
“The guy that lives next door was trying to put the fire out with a hose.”
He said the close-knit street would be shaken by the incident.
“Everyone knows each other quite well.”
Clive St resident Peter Renwick, 52, believed the two women were active in the church community but said they mostly kept to themselves.
“They were not all that able, they had disabilities,” he said.
“I didn’t know them well, just coming and going around the community, but they seemed to have people from the church come around.”
Devastated next-door-neighbour Nathan helped the women with chores, collecting their mail and checking in on them.
He was woken to popping windows and by the time he got around to the front of the house the older woman was already outside.
“She was screaming that somebody was upstairs,” he said.
He valiantly tried to put out the fire but his hose “wasn’t doing too much”.
Nathan said the women were deeply involved with the church and believed the 69-year-old would be supported in her time of grief.
“I imagine with her church connections, they’ll rally around.”