By REBECCA BILLS
A MOTHER dropping her children at day care this morning returned to find her car on fire.
Fire-fighters from Montrose and Mount Evelyn were called to the fire at Goodstrart Early Learning Centre in Montrose at 8.20am this morning with the car located under the eaves of the centre.
Montrose fire brigade fifth lieutenant Tim Bishop said the fire was in the engine bay and emitting a large amount of smoke, and fire-fighters needed to wear breathing apparatus.
“With the assistance of staff at the centre, children and parents were kept away from the area until crews were able to extinguish the fire and make the scene safe,” he said.
Mr Bishop said it was believed the owner of the car was dropping her children at the centre when a member of the public noticed her car was emitting smoke from under the bonnet.
“Members of the public attempted to extinguish the fire, they also dragged the burning car away from the building into the car park and waited for fire-fighters to arrive,” he said.
“Children already inside the early learning centre were moved into a back room as far away from the smoke as possible.
“We would like to thank the members of the public and staff for their quick actions in attempting to extinguish the fire with fire extinguishers and moving the car away for the building into the car park – by doing this it certainly prevented any damage to the building.”
Goodstart Early Learning said the fire was extinguished by 8.45am with access to the car park restricted for about 20 minutes.
They said there was no immediate threat to the centre, children and staff with no interruptions to the operations of the centre.
“There was no damage to the centre and operations continued as usual,” they said.
The Mail will report as more information comes to hand.
