Family escapes house fire on Plover Court, Murray Bridge
Investigators from the Metropolitan Fire Service say an electrical fault is to blame.
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A Murray Bridge family is lucky to be alive after a fire gutted their home on Plover Court early on Wednesday morning.
A man and woman sleeping in the shed woke up around 1.30am and could feel the heat from the blaze, which had started in a laundry and was already spreading into the roof.
They raced inside, grabbed the woman’s mother and sister and all got out safely, as did the resident in the other half of the duplex.
Firefighters arrived around 1.45am to find the back half of the house ablaze.
Despite a roof collapse, they were able to bring the fire under control within 10 minutes and extinguish it another 10 minutes later.
Investigators would later determine that the fire had been caused by an electrical fault.
They believed wiring had ignited inside a wall cavity, possibly as a result of an overloaded circuit, before spreading through the laundry, kitchen and roof.
Family friend Louise Wilson told Murray Bridge News the residents believed a washing machine had been at fault.
Either way, she was glad they were alright and had found somewhere to stay for now.
“I heard the fire brigade and everything but didn’t know nothing,” she said.
“I rang (the friend) and she said ‘did you know our house burned down?’
“I’m just glad they’re all alive.”
The fire is estimated to have caused $150,000 worth of damage.
Locals support locals. Your support helps Murray Bridge News tell important local stories.
Sharp-eyed observer helps police catch a thief
Meanwhile, Murray Bridge police have arrested an alleged thief with help from a member of the public.
Police were called to an address on Eleanor Terrace at 1pm on Friday after a man was allegedly spotted smashing a van window and making off with two generators and a sack truck.
A witness followed the man to a nearby address and alerted police, who closed in and made the arrest.
Officers had already been looking for the 42-year-old local man in connection with a house break-in and bank card theft the day before.
They charged him with three counts of theft, two of being unlawfully on premises and one of illegal use of a motor vehicle.
He was denied bail and faced Murray Bridge Magistrates Court on Monday.
Charges laid over east side attack
A 55-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly threatening another man with a metal pole at Murray Bridge East on Friday.
Police were called to a home on the Old Princes Highway around 8.15pm after the alleged perpetrator arrived and damaged some of the resident’s property.
The man was refused bail and faced charges – of property damage, trespassing and making a threat – at Murray Bridge Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
Meet Jeff the road safety dog
Finally, road safety mascot Jeff the dog will be the guest of honour at Murray Bridge’s Coffee with a Cop event for July.
He and officers from SA Police’s road safety section will be in the food court at Murray Bridge Marketplace from 10.30am next Tuesday, July 4.
They’ll be happy to buy you a coffee and chat about road safety issues and the so-called “fatal five” factors which contribute to many of the deaths and serious injuries on South Australian roads.
Locals support locals. Your support helps Murray Bridge News tell important local stories.
