House fire at Swanport causes $300,000 damage
Plus police are investigating a car fire on Adelaide Road, Murray Bridge over the weekend.
A family of seven has been forced to flee a house at Swanport as it was engulfed by fire on Tuesday night.
Firefighters were called to the house on Swanport Village Road just before 6.30pm.
They arrived to find flames already spreading from a bedroom into the roof.
Six Country Fire Service crews and two Metropolitan Fire Service crews were able to contain the fire to part of the house, but the rest was still badly smoke damaged.
The CFS estimated the damage to be worth $300,000.
Paramedics, police and SA Power Networks technicians all attended the scene, too.
The family members, including five children, were not injured in the blaze, but have been left homeless.
An online fundraising page has since been set up to accept donations on their behalf.
The CFS declined to indicate exactly how the fire started.
However, the MFS has urged all homeowners to consider fire safety at their own properties this week: Home Fire Safety Week.
The MFS urged everyone to:
- make sure your home has at least one working smoke alarm fitted
- don’t overload power boards or use damaged electrical equipment
- have chimneys and flues inspected every year
- keep flammable items at least two metres away from fireplaces, and place screens around open fires
Electrical problems have caused 520 house fires in South Australia in the past three years; and faulty fireplaces, flues or chimneys caused another 60 in 2022 alone.
- Donate to the family: www.gofundme.com.
- More information about fire safety: www.mfs.sa.gov.au.
Police investigate car fire on Adelaide Road
Finally, police are appealing for information after a car was torched in Murray Bridge on Saturday morning.
Fire crews were called to a park in front of a house on Adelaide Road, near Sybil Court, just after 3.30am.
They found a Nissan Navara in the process of being destroyed by a fire.
Police believe that the fire was deliberately lit.
Anyone with information about the fire should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or at www.crimestopperssa.com.au, anonymously if necessary.
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