Four families have been left without homes after fires ripped through their houses in four separate tragedies over the past week.
A young couple lost everything last Thursday when a relatively new iPad they left charging in the bedroom of their Jarrahdale Rd home ignited, causing extensive damage to their house and their daughter’s toys.
Then on Friday afternoon firefighters arrived at a property on Southacre Drive in Canning Vale to find it completely engulfed by flames.
The homeowner was asleep when the fire began, and was woken by her son who told her to ‘get out now’.
Despite fire crews’ efficiency in extinguishing the fire, the house was completely destroyed.
The source of the fire was undetermined, but the investigation ruled no suspicious circumstances.
A Thornlie family made a lucky escape on Sunday night after a fire started just before 11pm in the garage and spread rapaciously to the rest of the home.
Firefighters worked quickly to bring the blaze under control, and it was all out by 12.30am, but the house suffered extensive damage.
Then at midday on Monday a house on Harding Street in Hilbert went up in flames.
Three people were home when the fire started in the garage of the property.
One neighbour knocked on the front door to alert the three inside to the smoke billowing from their garage.
While another tried to douse the flames with a garden hose until fire crews arrived.
Two crews from Maddington and two from Armadale were on scene within minutes and worked quickly to put out the fire, which was extinguished within half an hour of their arrival.
Because of the heavy damage, investigators were unable to determine what caused the fire.
The Examiner asked the Department of Fire and Emergency Services if there was any known reason for the significant spate of fires in Perth’s southeast this week.
But a spokesperson said there was nothing that connected the four incidents, and that it was just a string of unfortunate accidents.
But DFES’ Mark Hayes did warn about the dangers of leaving devices with lithium batteries plugged in when not at home.
“Know what you’ve put on charge and turn it off before you leave the house,” he said.
“And charge it in an area close to water. I charge my phone in the kitchen, so it’s close to the sink.”
By June, WA firefighters had responded to 70 blazes sparked by lithium-ion – well on track to eclipse last year’s total of 110. And statistics from DFES show e-bikes and e-scooters have become the main source of battery fires in the state.
The worrying trend triggered the government to come out with a stark warning about risks of bringing ‘compromised’ products into the home to charge.
“There will always be the temptation to try to save a bit of money on a cheaper product, but I urge Western Australians to be careful,” Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson said.
“Most homes fires involving lithium-ion batteries go unnoticed before it is too late.”
The Examiner is not suggesting that any of the incidents over the past week were a result of shonky or ‘mismatched’ lithium-ion batteries.
