Warrnambool Fire Station’s senior station officer David Ferguson praised the fire preparedness and quick reactions of the people involved in the two incidents. 

Both blazes involved engines in and around buildings and could have been far worse if not for the presence of dry chemical extinguishers, Mr Ferguson said.

The Warrnambool Fire Brigade received the call for the first matter at 10.30am on Tuesday and attended a business in the Warrnambool industrial estate.

“The fire had started on a front-end loader where staff had been welding and sparks had gotten into the engine bay,” Mr Ferguson said.

“The premises had fire extinguishers and there was one on the loader itself. 

“(Staff) attacked the fire themselves and managed to extinguish the fire.

“They used three extinguished (and) also called the fire brigade … who examined the loader with thermal imaging cameras and helped with the clean-up.

“They were able to confine the fire to the engine bay, with some damage to the wiring and the fuel lines.

“But by stopping the fire there, they stopped the (front-end loader) from becoming significantly damaged and the potential for the fire to spread to the shed, where there was equipment with gas cylinders nearby.

“There was still a bit of smoke in the air when the brigade arrived and they thought it would be a significant incident.

“The staff’s quick action with the extinguishers saved the day.”

Mr Ferguson said the business had their extinguishers checked by the brigade just two weeks earlier.

Later on Tuesday afternoon, the brigade received a second call “from a lady whose husband had a fire in a motorbike he was working on” in a shed in the backyard of their Warrnambool home.

“He’d been working on the fuel system … and when he started the bike the fuel had leaked out and settled on the engine and the fuel ignited,” Mr Ferguson said.

“Nearby was a dry chemical extinguisher and he grabbed it and hit the fire with it and extinguished the fire quickly.

“If it got going, the fire would have destroyed the motorbike, which is a rare historical bike. There was also a 1980 Ferrari nearby.

“An extinguisher on hand, ready to be used, saved the day.”

Mr Ferguson said the fire brigade were able to assist with the clean-up as there was still some fuel in the vicinity.

He said it was important for all households, garages and sheds to have dry chemical extinguishers in them.

It was also important to check the extinguishers were still in working order by examining their gauges.

“It’s good every so often to give them a shake and turn them upside-down, check around the nozzle to check they haven’t discharged,” Mr Ferguson said.