BRIMBANK firefighters are urging residents to ensure they have working smoke alarms after new figures revealed the city had the highest number of house fires in the western suburbs last year.
There were 129 fires in Brimbank in 2012, second in the state behind the city of Melbourne (227).
Moonee Valley had 92 fires, Hobsons Bay 67 and Hume 46.
In Melton there were 70 fires, including 13 in Melton South, 12 in Melton and 10 in Caroline Springs.
The results come after a fire safety survey conducted late last year found 38 per cent of Victorian households had only one smoke alarm installed, while 28 per cent had disconnected their smoke alarm or taken out batteries to prevent false alarms.
The survey also found almost half of all rented properties had only one working smoke alarm.
Brimbank MFB leading district firefighter Steve Warnock said it was extremely concerning that they were still attending many fires where smoke alarms were not installed or working.
“When people are asleep the one sense they lose is their sense of smell. Without a proper, functioning smoke alarm people could sleep through a fire in their home and the results of that are devastating.
“Having an operating smoke alarm is the best chance a person has of surviving a fire, saving their family and preventing damage to their property.”
In the past year, officers had attended more fires at boarding houses, particularly in St Albans. Earlier this year, a St Albans man, 21, was killed in a fire after a gas explosion in the kitchen of his home.
Brimbank’s high smoking rate and the age and deterioration of buildings was also a factor in the high number of house fires.
