Blazes a warning to rural homeowners

Two large Whitford homes have been destroyed and a family pet killed in fires this week, promoting calls for rural residents to install sprinkler systems.

Both homes were on lifestyle blocks and without reticulated water.

Fire Safety Officer George Stephens said the houses were destroyed, leaving two families homeless and one grieving the loss of their dog, which died trying to escape the blaze.

The first fire broke out on Wednesday night in the kitchen of a large home on Griggs Rd.

The owners, who were down by the pool, tried to fight the flames with a garden hose until the Fire Service arrived.

Firefighters from 12 appliances had to rely on tank and swimming pool water but were unable to prevent the house from burning to the ground. Several lengths of fire hose were also destroyed when water ran low. The blaze may have been caused by an electrical fault.

The second fire occurred on Thursday night in Clifton Rd while the owner was away. The cause is still being investigated but arson has not been ruled out.

Mr Stephens said sprinklers would have made a huge difference.

He said people in rural areas needed to realise the Fire Service was at least 10 minutes away and without reticulated water, even more time was lost setting up hoses and pumps.

"If you are going to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars building properties like these it makes sense to invest a few thousand in making sure they will survive a major fire."

Principal rural fire officer Bryan Cartelle estimated about 180,000 litres of water was pumped onto one of the fires.

A home sprinkler would have extinguished the flames in minutes.