The quick actions of a Mooroolbark family have helped prevent a fire from spreading through their home, after a blaze recently ignited in their garage.
After discovering thick black smoke coming from the garage, the occupants kept the internal door closed, immediately called Triple Zero and safely evacuated the property with their dogs.
Occupant Olivia Moore had just finished work when she noticed the smell of smoke and began looking for its source, just moments before the smoke alarm quickly followed.
"It was so fast. I saw black smoke seeping through the cracks of the garage door and then the smoke alarm went off," Olivia said.
At roughly the same time Olivia discovered the fire, her father Linton arrived home to see smoke billowing from the garage.
"We had enough time to call Triple Zero, leash up the dogs and get out through the side gate," Linton said.
"We left the door closed because we didn't want to open it and give the fire more oxygen.
"If we were two to five minutes later, it would have engulfed the house. If this happened at night, it could have been a different story."
Five CFA fire trucks responded to the property on Paris Court in Mooroolbark at around 5:48pm on Wednesday 1 July.
When firefighters arrived, the occupants had safely evacuated and were waiting outside the property.
Mooroolbark Captain Craig Turner said the occupants' actions had helped prevent the fire from spreading through the home.
"Keeping the internal door closed helped contain the fire to the garage," Craig said.
"There was no fire damage to the remainder of the house, although some smoke entered after crews accessed the property.
"The occupants did the right thing by calling Triple Zero, evacuating and leaving the door closed.
"While they had already discovered the fire before the smoke alarm activated, it is reassuring to know it could also have alerted neighbours if nobody had been home.
"Working smoke alarms save lives and should be installed throughout the home and regularly tested."
CFA recommends smoke alarms be installed in all bedrooms, hallways and living areas, and interconnected where possible, so when one alarm sounds, all alarms activate.
Victorians should test their smoke alarms monthly, clean them each year, replace batteries annually where required and replace smoke alarms every 10 years.
