Quick thinking: Neighbours helped remove the car from the garage, preventing the house from catching fire.
A Wallan family have escaped with their lives and their house, after being woken by interconnected smoke alarms and alerted to a car fire in their garage.
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The CFA was notified in the early hours of Thursday, November 10 of a car fire at McNaughton Close.
Incident controller Chris Brockwell said it was fortunate the family escaped unharmed owing to the interconnected smoke alarms.
“Five interconnected smoke alarms throughout the house woke the family as the smoke started entering the building, with the fire also triggering the car horn to sound,” he said.
“They were then joined by quick-thinking neighbours who helped drag the car out of the garage and into the driveway, and that’s what’s saved the house from burning down.
“Our first priority was to ensure there was no fire extension into the structure, which was done fairly quickly using a thermal imaging camera.
“We then extinguished the car in the driveway, ventilated the house and cleared the smoke.
“Fire investigators have attended today and the cause is yet to be determined, but it is not being treated as suspicious.”
Disaster avoided: The fire is not being treated as suspicious; however, the cause is yet to be determined.
Smoke alarms must be installed outside every sleeping area and on each level of a house.
Residents are also encouraged to consider installing a smoke alarm in the garage.
Mr Brockwell said it took only moments to test if smoke alarms were in working order, but doing so could save lives.
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