2 October 2018

Unattended candle and discarded cigarette butt causes Giralang and Dunlop house fires

| Lachlan Roberts
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Photo: George Tsotsos.

An unattended candle and a discarded cigarette butt are believed to be the cause of separate house fires that took place across Canberra this morning.

Around 9 am today (2 October), emergency services responded to an Emergency Triple Zero call reporting a house fire on Pinterry Place, Giralang.

Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire, which initial investigations suggest was caused by a candle left unattended.

Firefighters treated one patient at the scene for smoke inhalation and conducted atmospheric monitoring and air ventilation operations to ensure the area was safe.

An ACT Emergency Services Agency spokesperson reminded the community to always use a proper candle holder that is heat-resistant, sturdy and large enough to hold dripping wax, especially on wooden furniture or cloth-covered surfaces.

Around 10 am on the same day, emergency services responded to an Emergency Triple Zero call reporting a house fire on Polwarth Circuit, Dunlop.

Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire, which was contained to the garage and initial investigations suggest the fire was caused by a discarded cigarette butt.

ACT Ambulance Service Paramedics treated one patient on scene.

An ACT Emergency Services Agency spokesperson reminded the community to discard cigarette butts responsibly and always make sure your cigarette butt is fully extinguished.

For more information on how to prevent candles being a fire risk, click here. For more information on the dangers of careless disposal of smoking materials and cigarettes, click here.

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I live opposite the house in Pinterry Place, and I heard the fire alarm going off this morning, and there was an NFS (National Fire Solutions) van parked in front of it, the guy was trying to get in. I’m not sure if the govt house has a back to base alarm, or if he happened to be there to service the alarms or something.

I never saw any smoke though, my wife asked one of the Firey’s what happened and said it was an incense candle. An SUV ambulance had turned up just as I was getting into the car to go to work. That must have been the “Firefighters treated one patient at the scene for smoke inhalation” reference I suppose. Unless there is more to the story than was published.

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