Family escapes burning Warrnambool home

Kathryn McGeechan said she noticed smoke coming from one of the children’s bedrooms.

“I could smell smoke and I looked in the bedroom and I could see orange and I’ve kicked the door down and got the cot mattress and put it in the bathroom,” Ms McGeechan said.

“By the time I tried to turn the tap on, the flames were that big so I left it.

“I’ve just got everyone out and the house has pretty much gone up.”

Ms McGeechan ran to a neighbour who called the fire brigade.

She said she had to get her partner to go back inside because in the panic she momentarily lost track of two of her four kids who are aged between six and two.

“I thought I’d left two in there but I’d got them all out. I didn’t realise,” she said.

While the fire brigade are still investigating the cause of the fire, Ms McGeechan said she thinks two of the children may have been playing with a lighter and started the fire.

Senior station officer Greg Kinross said the fire was contained mostly to the bathroom, but the rest of the house was smoke damaged. 

“The house is pretty much unlivable,” he said. 

“The belongings will be damaged through smoke and heat.

“The family evacuated luckily and got everyone out.”

Ms McGeechan said they had since managed to get the fridge and couch out of the house.

“But all the clothes and all the food is pretty much destroyed,” she said.

“We can’t use the mattresses, everything is just totally destroyed.”

The family will stay with friends tonight while they sort out emergency accommodation.

Mr Kinross said the house was well alight when fire crews arrived at the house just before 8.30am.

“The flames were coming out the window...we could see the smoke en route to the incident, so we knew it was going.”

Three trucks from Warrnambool attended, with both paid and volunteer members turning up, Mr Kinross said.

Koroit was called for support, but wasn’t needed.