An Adelaide family has lost its home after a devastating fire that was sparked by a phone charger connected to a faulty extension cord.
The couple and a three-year-old daughter narrowly escaped the inferno after it broke out on Maple Avenue in Aberfoyle Park just before 8.30pm yesterday.
Neighbours rushed outside upon hearing the commotion.
“It was scary that it was close to the house, because the smoke was going everywhere,” witness Shelby Zubcic said.
“The whole house was all smokey.”
Firefighters managed to control the blaze within 20 minutes, successfully rescuing the family’s pet cat.
The mother of one of the victims arrived at the property today to assess the damage.
“They tried everything they could to put it out, they thought they put it out but then it just went ‘wooosh’ and they had to get out,” she said.
The property was a rental, and the family didn’t have insurance. The damage bill has been estimated at $600,000.
The Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) said the fire was caused by a possible electrical fault in an extension cord connected to a charger on a bed, and has warned about the importance of avoiding leaving chargers on combustible surfaces.
This article was produced with the assistance of 9ExPress.
