A hot day in Caro

On arrival, crews were faced with an attached garage well alight, with fire extending into the house. A total collapse of the garage ensued.

Incident Controller, Station Officer Ken Walker from Caroline Springs, assigned a crew to enter the double storey brick veneer residence to perform a primary search and to knock down any fire that had entered upper storey bedrooms.

“The smoke was so thick, and it was extremely hot when we got to the top of the stairs, I could feel  the heat through my flash hood” explained Leading Firefighter Adam Whitford.

With support from the MFB, another crew was sent into the house to help perform a search and attack the fire.

Due to the weather conditions during the day, being very hot, windy and muggy, a request was made by the Incident Controller to page three more brigades for additional BA operators. Hydration was also a big factor, with copious amounts of bottled water being consumed.

Once the main fire was knocked down, an MFB Ladder Platform was requested to gain entry into the unstable roofspace in the upper storey of the house, due to their still being small amounts of smoke issuing.  With Lieutenant Michael Wright on the end of a hoseline, and an MFB firefighter using a ceiling hook, tiles were removed and the last pockets of fire extinguished.

Appliances onscene were;

Caroline Springs – Pumper, Tanker 2.

Melton – Pumper.

Diggers Rest – Tanker 1.

Sunbury – BA Support.

RDO Anderson.

MFB – Pumper-Tanker 41, Pumper-Tanker 48, Ladder Platform 47, Commander Taylor.

Victoria Police – blocking the main thoroughfare through Caroline Springs for crews to work safely.

Ambulance Victoria.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation with the last appliance departing a number of hours later.

Pictures by Blair Dellemijn – CFA Strategic Communications.