General News
13 May, 2025
Home destroyed in Wareek fire
A more than 120-year-old Wareek home was destroyed by fire last week with brigades attending the blaze for nearly five hours.
Emergency services were called to a house fire on Douglass Road, Wareek at around 12.45 pm last Thursday.
Eleven fire trucks attended the blaze, including vehicles from Maryborough, Avoca, Bowenvale, Dunolly, Natte Yallock and Talbot, with additional support from Golden Square and Castlemaine. Police also attended the fire.
The resident of the property was home at the time of the incident, but was uninjured.
Wareek Fire Brigade Captain Matthew Ipsen said the fire likely started due to an electrical fault.
“We think it was a possible electrical fault that started behind the oven and it escalated from there,” he said.
Captain Ipsen said once the timber within the home was ignited, the fire spread rapidly throughout the building, with many crews arriving to the house almost fully engulfed.
“The spread was due to the fire getting through the timber in the roof cavity, which was very hard for us to then get water into,” he said.
Captain Ipsen has acknowledged the efforts of firefighters that attended the blaze, with many on the property until 5.30 pm.
“I also want to thank those who attended and who were there all afternoon,” he said.
