Homes scorched by winter fires

The number of Logan homes gutted by fires in just the first few weeks of winter is mounting.

Three house fires occurred in the span of only four days last week across Logan Village, Hillcrest and Stockleigh.

One of those houses was home to single mum-of-two Cindy Howard, whose family had lived in the rental for only three months.

They were left with nothing but the clothes on their back.

“The boys were going to their fathers that weekend, and we’d had a fire that morning, so I’d packed them up and turned the flue down, so it was just embers and closed the door like I always do,” Ms Howard said.

“I left home at 12.01pm, and I know exactly when I left because I was one minute late, and then at around 12.40pm I got a call from Logan Village police.

“She essentially said, ‘your house and car is on fire’ – she warned me that this wasn’t just a little kitchen fire. She said, ‘it’s a shell, it’s gutted, you’re coming home to nothing’.

“They’re still investigating this, but so far they think it was some wiring issue in the wall.

“The fire started in the middle of the house, they said, so it can’t be a heater or fireplace.”

Nine crews were needed to tame the Miller Road blaze, which Ms Howard said gutted the timber house within minutes.

“My neighbour up the road, Cody, who is only 18 or 19, was on the way to work and saw the smoke,” she said.

“He tried to move the car, but couldn’t cause the keys were in the house, so he focused on my animals – he took my Frenchie out of the front yard and managed to find a rope and take my horse out.

“He took it to a neighbour up the road, and said he then bolted back less than 10 minutes later, and the house was gone.”

Ms Howard said Cody, who worked at the nearby Woolworths, the next day organised with his work to donate more than $500 of groceries and flowers to her family.

“Cody is a ridiculously mature and kind person – I was meant to be buying him flowers,” she said.

“The whole of Logan Village has been so helpful.

“I was gone from the village for six years, and I’ve only been back for three months, and this has happened.”

The local kindergarten, Goodstart Early Learning, started a GoFundMe for Ms Howard.

It has raised more than $15,000 so far.

Last year there were more than 145 house fires in Logan and almost 1000 in Queensland – 450 of which occured during winter.

The Queensland Emergency and Fire Services Logan area commander, Desmond Adams, said Logan had a “large proportion” of the state’s fires.

“It is a high percentage, and it does come down to Logan having a big multicultural population, so there is a lot of different ways cultures cook and store food, and keep warm,” Mr Adams said.

“And also, not being able to get access to the better-quality electrical items.”

He said the best defence and prevention of house fires was to take precautions and be aware.

“With winter, we’re using a lot more heating devices and electical equipment to wash and dry clothes,” he said.

“A lot of people will pull electric blankets out of storage and use them straight away without checking them – are the chords in good condition – they can get damaged when they’re folded, they’re best to be rolled.”

He said it was best to keep clothes and blankets at least two-metres away from radiator-style heaters.

“And it is always best that all those items are turned of before you go to bed or leave the house.”

“A lot of the heaters nowadays have a cut-off device so that if they do get accidentally knocked over, they’ll turn off.

“So, it is best to look for those items with safety features.”

He said a fire escape plan for families was also important.

“There’s no point having two members of the family meeting in the front yard and two others meet in the backyard,” he said.

“It is best if you can all meet at the letterbox if something does happen, because everyone has a letterbox.”

He said it was also important to remember to call 000 in an emergency.

Although that seems obvious, Mr Adams said 911 was often called because of media influences.

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