Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) has expressed concern at the number of house fires it has been attending since the onset of the colder months.
Director of Regional Operations, Central Region, for QFES, Steve Smith said crews had attended more than 27 structure fires across Central Queensland since the beginning of May.
He said of the 27 fires, 19 had been house or unit fires.
“These include eight house fires in the Rockhampton Regional Council area alone since the start of May,” Mr Smith said.
“Gladstone, Mackay, Central Highlands and Livingstone Council areas have accounted for the remainder.”
He said that since 2012, Rockhampton was actually the highest risk area outside of Logan for severe house fires.
“This is based on several factors, including how long our crews have spent at an incident, how many crews responded and the number of house or unit fires that spread from rooms of origin,” Mr Smith said.
“Given we have only recently passed the halfway mark of this winter, we want people to ensure they are doing everything they can to keep these sorts of incidents to as few as possible and ensure they have carried out fire safety checks around their homes.”
He said a common cause of house fires was faulty equipment, and overloading of power points and equipment.
“The condition of electrical items should be checked regularly for faults,” he said.
“Check all your appliances are safe to use before switching on. Before you leave the house or go to bed, ensure appliances are switched off and that open fires have been fully extinguished.”
“These are important actions people can take to ensure themselves and their families or households stay safe,” Mr Smith said.
