Quick thinking saves fire disaster

A NAR Nar Goon North man is lucky to have escaped unscathed after a fire broke out dangerously close to flammable materials in his shed.
Norm Box was welding in his shed about 1.40pm on Wednesday 22 October when sparks hit his lawn mower and set it on fire.
The fire broke out next to the 72-year-old’s petrol-filled tractors and the 34 degree weather prompted concerned firefighters to dispatch six trucks to the scene.
Incident controller Peta Waterhouse from Maryknoll CFA praised Norm Box who was quick to douse the fire.
“The lawn mower was next to the tractors in the shed and they contain flammable liquids so it could have been quite severe.”
“But he did the right thing. He put water on it straight away which helped get the flame out.
“Two trucks from Marynoll, one from Nar Nar Goon, Pakenham, Pakenham Upper and Tynong responded to the call and our trucks got an overshoot happening to completely get rid of the hotspots,” she said.
Ms Waterhouse said that despite the scorching heat, low winds meant the fire was relatively easy to control.
“Had we had the stronger winds we were having recently, it could have caused it to go off,” she said.
Paramedics were seen leaving the man’s Nar Nar Goon home about 3pm but he escaped uninjured.