House fire at Mypolonga causes $300,000 worth of damage
The MFS has warned about the risk of house fires in winter after the second such fire in the Murraylands in three weeks.
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A house at Mypolonga has been gutted by fire over the weekend.
The Country Fire Service was called to the house on Williams Street just before 10pm on Saturday.
The CFS’ Cassandra Curtis said the stone villa was already burning fiercely when firefighters arrived.
Nobody was home at the time.
It took an hour for crews from the CFS and Metropolitan Fire Service to control the flames.
By then, about $250,000 to $300,000 worth of damage had been done.
Investigators determined that the fire had been accidentally lit, though the CFS did not say exactly how.
The fire was the second of significance in the Murraylands in the past month, after two homes at Sunnyside burned down – again as the result of an accident – three weeks ago.
Beware of home heating hazards, MFS warns
The MFS last week urged people to be aware of the risk of house fires, particularly in winter.
Heaters and fireplaces cause up to 60 house fires in South Australia each year, according to the MFS’ Angelo Mastripolito.
“Our rule of thumb is to keep anything flammable two metres from the heater this winter,” he said.
“Beds, curtains, furniture and clothes hung on clothes airers can too easily catch alight.
“It’s a situation that could easily turn fatal.”
Portable heaters in bedrooms were particularly dangerous, he said, as people could kick quilts or blankets off while they slept, which could then catch on fire if they fell on or near anything hot.
He suggested people turn heating equipment off whenever they left the house.
If heating equipment had a fault, people should stop using it immediately and have it fixed by a qualified tradesperson, he said.
When buying a portable heater, he suggested looking for one with a safety switch that would turn it off if it fell over.
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