WHITTLESEA CFA crews remain on high alert today following a spate of electrical fires across the municipality.

South Morang CFA captain Lindsay McHugh said sweltering temperatures had unleashed a string of fires in the past two days to properties caused by overheated transformers and switchboards.

Mr McHugh said South Morang CFA crews had attended at least four call outs of this nature in the past 24 hours, and knew of other crews in the municipality that had attended more.

No-one had been injured in the blazes.

The worst of the fires came on Thursday when an electrical fault caused extensive damage to two rooms in a house in Briar Ct, South Morang. Thirty-two fire fighters took 15 minutes to bring the blaze under control after the fire broke out in a switchboard in the front room about 5pm.

Mr McHugh praised fire crews for their quick, decisive action and ability to limit the damage to the ceiling and front two rooms. “It could have been a lot worse,” he said.

On Wednesday, fire crews worked hard to save homes threatened by a fence fire in Plenty Rd, South Morang. The cause of that fire was still under investigation.

Mr McHugh said people could reduce the risk of electrical fires by not overloading power boards and switching electrical items off at the power point when not in use.

He said the station would also dispatch crews to Traralgon today to help fight wildfires in the area.

Source: Whittlesea Leader