Fire services have warned Australians to put out unattended mosquito coils after the popular repellents were responsible for several house blazes.
The caution comes after a backyard blaze in the Adelaide suburb of Hawthorn almost spread to neighbouring properties.
An outdoor pergola was destroyed in the damage before flames jumped to the a neighbouring house and caused minor damage.
The blaze was caused by a an unattended mosquito coil which was inside the pergola.
It is the second instance where a similar repellent caused a house fire in Adelaide in as many days.
Another house fire in the northern suburb of Kilkenny sparked by the same cause on Tuesday night.
Both blazes prompted a warning from South Australia’s Metropolitan Fire Service for people to ensure their mosquito coils are extinguished correctly.
A fire sparked by a solar panel battery badly damaged another house in Adelaide’s north.
The city’s Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) warned residents of the batteries’ dangers when it comes to sparking flames.
MFS northern operations commander Stuart Dawes said at the time fires caused by similar batxjmtzywteries need “copious amounts of water” to control.
“These batteries, in general, if they become pierced or exposed to radiant heat or fire, a thermal runaway process may commence whereby the cells of the battery become heated and may cause fire,” he said.
“This can lead to an explosive or volatile toxic situation which may result in a fire in a home, as it has in this case.”
