Country Fire Authority firefighter suffers snakebite while extinguishing St Leonards blaze

A firefighter was rushed to hospital after they were bitten by a snake while fighting a Bellarine fire that quickly reignited.

Firefighters leave the scene of a St Leonards blaze more than six hours after initially responding to it. Picture: Eddie Russell

A Country Fire Authority (CFA) firefighter has spent the night in hospital after being bitten by a snake while battling a blaze in St Leonards.

Crews from nearby fire stations were called to reports of a grassfire at the intersection of Harvey Rd and Ibbotson St about 10.54am on Monday.

The unlucky firefighter encountered the snake while working to extinguish the fire and was subsequently taken to Geelong hospital by paramedics.

The firefighter was released on Tuesday morning after being monitored overnight by hospital staff for the lower body bite.

It took five CFA units 50 minutes to get the 20 metre blaze under control and it was declared safe just before 12.30pm.

However, crews were forced to scramble back after the fire reignited around 2:15pm.

Air support was required to extinguish the blaze, which had increased to 100 metres in size.

It was finally declared safe at 6.49pm that evening.

Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) firefighters and police also attended the incident.

The CFA’s Fire Investigation Unit are investigating the cause of the fire, which so far is not being treated as suspicious.

Originally published as Country Fire Authority firefighter suffers snakebite while extinguishing St Leonards blaze