Mandurah house fire causes hefty $400K damage bill

A fire sparked from a solar energy inverter has destroyed a Mandurah home overnight, leaving owners with a $400,000 damage bill.

Neighbours called triple-zero about 3.55am after a blaze started in the garage, which was attached to a Batavia Avenue home in the city’s southern suburb of Wannanup.

When firefighters from Mandurah and Falcon stations arrived the garage was fully engulfed in flames, which quickly spread to another room of the home.

The fire was under control by 4.20am and by 6am the nine crews of career and volunteer firefighters had finished mopping up.

Department of Fire and Emergency Services investigators visited the home on Saturday morning, finding an ignition point in the family’s solar system.

It was just one of several house fires around WA on Friday evening and into Saturday after blazes broke out in Perth’s suburb of Cannington and Geraldton’s eastern suburb of Utakarra.

The Cannington fire caused damage to 40 per cent of the home after igniting just before 11am on Saturday in the kitchen, before spreading to other rooms.

By the time firefighters arrived, the property’s roof was fully engulfed, and there was smoke damage throughout the home.

The situation was under control and contained by 11.20am. Investigators deemed the fire accidental.

The house fire in Utakarra started about 9.30pm on Friday and was brought under control by two Geraldton crews within 15 minutes.

A lounge and a bedroom of the single-storey home were impacted by fire, and there was smoke damage throughout the property.

Police and Western Power also attended. The cause of the fire is still being investigated.