Four housemates narrowly escaped with their lives after a mistake in disposing of hot ashes sparked a fire that engulfed their home.
The tenants managed to flee the home in Blakeview in Adelaide‘s north after they were awakened by smoke filling their bedrooms around 2:30 a.m. Monday.
Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire after it swept through the front room and destroyed about $25,000 worth of electronics and gaming equipment.
The fire appears to have started after ashes from a bonfire at the house were dumped into a wheelie bin.
But the ashes were not completely extinguished and the embers reignited the fire about 14 hours later.
The incident comes weeks after another fire started by ashes unsafely dumped in a container caused around $30,000 worth of damage to a home in Dover Gardens.
Four housemates managed to flee a devastating fire caused by ashes dumped in a wheelie bin which leveled the house and caused around $300,000 worth of damage (pictured).
CCTV footage shows the fire spreading out of the front of the house before one of the housemates, Shannon Roe, can be heard saying: ‘Oh what the fuck… Get up!’
“I woke up coughing, I tried to go back to sleep thinking I was being too dramatic,” Roe told 7News.
He managed to help his housemates and their pets escape to his backyard, where they had to stay until the fire was extinguished.
The total cost of the damage is expected to exceed $300,000, but Roe said he was glad no lives were lost.
“The main thing is I’m glad everyone is safe. At the end of the day, these are possessions, we can replace them, but we can’t replace people,” he said.
“It’s not something you expect to happen.”
One of the residents, Shannon Roe (pictured), said she was happy no lives had been lost in the fire.
Residents have now been forced to return to live with relatives while they look for another place to rent.
Fire and waste authorities warned residents not to put ashes in household, plastic or municipal containers unless they are completely cool and no longer holding embers.
“Ash and charcoal can go into the green bin, but only when they are completely unlit and cool,” warns the state’s recycling campaign, Which Bin, on its website.
“If the wood, coal or ash is still hot, it can burn the container or cause fires inside the collection trucks, which can damage the equipment and put drivers at risk.”
