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A 60-YEAR-OLD Moama man has seen 10-years of DIY renovations disappear in a fireball this evening.
Steve Walker was repairing a lawnmower he had been trying to get going for the past few weeks when it sent sparks into his garage.
He said a fire broke out immediately and although he had two fire extinguishers and started spraying it straight after he saw the first flames it spread too fast.
“It just took off, and I was worried about my neighbours and their houses,” the shaken man said.
One of those, a woman who gave her name as Sarah, said she was in her kitchen when she saw a man waving at her through the window and shouting at her to get out of the house.
“I went outside and saw all the smoke and flames,” Sarah said.
“I had to run back into my house and grab my two-year-old daughter and then we got out as fast as we could.”
Victorian and NSW fire units attended the blaze but there was nothing they could do to save the brick home.
Their main job was to ensure the flames did not start spot fires on neighbouring houses.
A large crowd of neighbours were gathered in the street to watch the flames destroy the home.
Steve had to be treated by ambulance crews for shock and to ensure he had no burns or smoke inhalation and they gave him the all-clear.
More in Wednesday’s Riverine Herald.
UPDATE 6.44pm
Witnesses said the elderly man living in the house escaped the flames and is being treated in the street by ambulance paramedics.
They said he appeared to be safe but may be suffering shock.
The house is now on fire from end to end and police have widened their exclusion zone for public safety.
POSTED AT 6.42pm
A HOME in Francis St Moama has exploded into flames.
The fire was reported at 6.32pm with fire brigade units from both sides of the river in attendance.
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