Unit fire in the Riverland 16 April 2018

At 8:36pm tonight CFS crews were alerted to smoke seen coming out of a unit window at Riverview Drive in Paringa.

A neighbour spotted the smoke and heard the sound of an activated smoke alarm.

CFS Riverland volunteers crewed trucks and were on their way to the scene within three minutes of receiving the alert, and were supported by MFS crews.

Upon arrival the firefighters found smoke streaming from a window and attempted to raise the resident believed to be inside.

After knocking loudly on the door, crews forced entry into the premises and found the resident inside and unconscious.

Crews were able to remove the resident and extinguish the fire, which was caused by an item left unattended on a stovetop.

The resident was treated for smoke inhalation by SA Ambulance officers and did not require hospitalisation.

The fire was quickly extinguished, with only smoke damage occurring to the unit.

The quick response was enabled by the resident owning a working smoke alarm, and is a timely reminder for everyone to change their batteries and check their smoke alarms are in working order every time you need to change your clocks for daylight savings.

2018-04-16 Peter Freeman