Bridport house gutted by fire
• The May Street home was completely gutted by the fire.
By Taylor Clyne,
December 18, 2019
SCOTTSDALE and Bridport fire crews attended a serious house fire on May Street Bridport at around 4.15am this morning.
Despite crews’ best efforts, the home could not be saved.
It’s understood the homeowner had been painting doors inside his house, using enamel paint and left the wood fire going overnight to help dry it out.
The gentleman woke at around 2am this morning with a headache from the paint fumes so left the house to sleep in his caravan back at the back of his yard.
Bridport Fire Chief Mathew Hartley said the house went up in flames at around 4am and took crew close to 30mintues to extinguish.
“The incident has really rattled him as he could very well have been inside the home at the time and not made it out. It was a very lucky situation.
“From what we understand the fire door was ajar and it looks like coals or a piece of wood may have fallen onto the ground which then caught fire,” he said.
“The chief fire inspector has been down and deemed the incident as accidental,” Mr Hartley said.
“The home has been completely gutted.”
Mr Hartley said despite the terrible news at Christmas time the homeowner had a good support network around him to help him get back on his feet.
“It just goes to show how easy these things can happen. It serves as a reminder to please make sure you have working smoke alarms and be careful.”
The damage is expected to be between $250,000-$300,000.
