ACT News

House destroyed by fire in Isabella Plains, cat revived after Chisholm house fire

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A house has been destroyed by fire in Canberra's south overnight, and a cat had to be revived with oxygen after a later house fire on Monday morning.

ACT Fire & Rescue was alerted to the first incident in Isabella Plains at 12.10am Monday. No one was home at the time of the fire and the owners were believed to be on holidays.

Fire crews arrived to find the Leibnitz Place house fully engulfed with flames extending metres higher than the roof.

They put out the fire within an hour but the roof of the brick veneer home collapsed due to the heat.

The alarm was raised by a neighbour.

"The initial calls were that they had heard loud bangs and then upon looking outside saw the fire," ACT Fire & Rescue commander Neil Maher said.

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Three pumpers, a breathing apparatus support van and two commanders attended the scene, as well as crews from ACT Policing and ACT Ambulance Service.

Fire crews will examine the structure on Monday to try to determine a cause.

Later in the morning, firefighters used an oxygen mask to resuscitate a cat caught in a house fire at Chisholm.

Crews were called to the Nina Jones Crescent home just after 9.15am.

The blaze was contained to the kitchen, which received smoke and fire damage. 

The cat, Moke, started showing signs of life about 15 minutes after receiving oxygen. She then tried looking for a drink and was taken to a vet for further treatment.

Two fire trucks and a commander first responded to the house fire followed by the breathing apparatus support van and the HAZMAT crew.

Having quickly extinguished the fire, firefighters were clearing the scene and ventilating smoke from the home as of 9.35am.

Initial investigations indicated the fire was caused by an electrical fault.