Fire rips through city home after crockpot left unattended
A Bader resident who ‘‘popped to the shops’’ on Monday afternoon returned 15 minutes later to find his home in flames.
The fire ripped through the Hamilton property after a crockpot was left unattended, leaving a charred home in its path.
Three fire trucks and 12 firefighters were called to Montgomery Crescent at 2pm on Monday. The resident, who didn’t want to be named, said he left his faulty, second-hand crockpot cooking while he went to the shops for 15 minutes to pick up his medication.
‘‘This sort of thing doesn’t happen to me, but it did today ... I couldn’t believe it was happening, it was intensely hot and there was nothing I could do. You can’t fight a fire on your own, you need the fire brigade.’’
He lived at the property for more than five years and said the crockpot was previously his mothers.
‘‘I should have never used it, I should have thrown it away years ago, but you don’t do you.
‘‘Do not trust an old crockpot. It’s something you think, ‘ohh that’ll be nice and tasty when I get home’, yeah right.’’
Fire Safety Investigator Kevin Holmes confirmed to Stuff yesterday the cause of the fire was from an unspecified electrical event involving the slow cooker.
‘‘He [the tenant] had some problems with it a week earlier. With the amount of damage it would need to be demolished and something else rebuilt... it is beyond repair. The fire started in the dining room, which is in the back of the house, and extensively damaged the dining room, lounge room, kitchen and hallway and there’s a lot of smoke damage up in the bedrooms.
‘‘The roof is completely collapsed at one half of the house,’’ Holmes said.
The resident said ‘‘crockpots aren’t to be taken lightly, I’ll never trust another one. You need to turn everything off when you walk out the door... turn it all off and you’ll be right.
‘‘It’s a lesson that everyone can learn from. Second-hand appliances should be avoided.’’
After losing his home and all his possessions inside, he is unsure of where to go next.
‘‘I need to make contact with social welfare... I can’t cry over burnt photos, I’ve got no clothes, I’ve got nothing,’’ he said.
Holmes understands the occupants didn’t have any content insurance but believes the rental home is insured.
‘‘Electrical appliances are everywhere, everybody’s got them, we all use them. The minute there’s any inkling that something may be wrong or something’s not working properly, people need to immediately stop using them and have them checked.’’
Holmes also encourages residents to have working smoke alarms in the home.
‘‘We’re coming into winter and it’s starting to get cold... it’s important to have working smoke alarms and have an escape plan. Anything that is combustible needs to be kept a metre from the heater and make sure exit ways are clear,’’ Holmes said.