Hunt for house fire

By Kath Gannaway
A THERMAL-IMAGING camera was brought up from Mooroolbark to check for hidden hot-spots at a house fire in Healesville last week.
Healesville and Badger Creek brigades were notified of the Thomas Road fire at about 8.30pm on Monday, 16 July.
CFA volunteers brought the fire under control quickly but say they needed the camera to establishing if there were places it was still smouldering in the walls and roof.
Healesville CFA captain Graeme Bates said the former timber mill house had a number of layers and cavities in the roof and walls.
“We had the original timber roof with a layer of tar and a corrugated iron roof has been put over that,” he explained.
“Normally you can just pull a roof up and see where the fire is burning but with so many layers it was very hard to detect.
“The thermal imaging camera detects heat so you can tell where hot spots are and target those areas.”
CFA fire investigator Sharon Merrett said police were investigating the fire which was they thought was suspicious.
The repair bill was estimated to be about $20,000.