Firefighters determine cause of Pakington St fire

Fire investigators believe they have pinpointed the cause of a fire that engulfed a Pakington St carport on Wednesday. SEE THE VIDEO

A CIGARETTE butt is believed to have sparked a fire that engulfed the carport of a Pakington Street street unit on Wednesday.

Fire Rescue Victoria investigators confirmed on Thursday their probe into the fire had finished.

“FRV specialist fire investigators attended a property in Newtown yesterday, following a fire on Pakington Street,” a spokeswoman said.

“The fire is believed to have been caused by a discarded cigarette.”

The cause of the fire prompted the authority to urge smokers to ensure their cigarettes were fully out before being thrown away.

“We would like to remind people to extinguish any open flames before leaving home or going to sleep,” the spokeswoman said.

“Cigarettes should be extinguished in heavy, high-sided ashtrays, and it’s important to ensure they are out before disposal.”

Firecrews attend a blaze. Picture: Peter Ristevski

Firefighters were called to the unit complex just before 11am after smoke was seen billowing from the property.

Pakington Street trader Yamen Housaiki, who owns 9 Grams Cafe, said he was alerted to the fire after hearing a “big sound”.

“We realised that there was some kind of gas leak happening in the background with a big fire,” he said.

He said the customers were “shocked”.

“We saw a big smoke, big flames and all the fire rescue coming,” Mr Housaiki said.

“We appreciate that they came very fast.”

Mr Housaiki said firefighters helped residents evacuate.

“We saw on old woman (who lived in the complex) screaming, she wanted her cat,” he said.

Crews arrived on scene within five minutes to find a fire involving a carport.

At the height of the incident there were four FRV appliances and a command unit on scene.

CFA and Victoria Police are supporting FRV at the scene.”

MORE NEWS

PROBE INTO DEADLY GEELONG COVID OUTBREAK

GEELONG NIGHTCLUB ASSAULT LINKED TO BABY’S DEATH

PAKINGTON ST JEWELLER TO FIGHT CHARGES

Originally published as Firefighters determine cause of Pakington St fire