Family loses everything as garage fire devastates Toolamba home

It took just a matter of minutes for a raging fire, believed to have been started by an old fridge or the double adapter it was plugged into, to move with force through the roof space of the Evans’ garage and into their home on June 10.

Jacqui was wrapping her daughter’s birthday presents before she heard large explosions that ultimately led to the destruction of her home.

The Evans family lost everything.

“I did notice a funny smell when I got home and unpacked the car, but it wasn’t major, so I didn’t think anything of it,” Jacqui said.

“I then heard a bang, but I thought the wood in our fireplace had just moved, so I went to have a look, but instead I saw smoke and realised it was coming through the corner of the door from the garage with flames not far behind it.

“I ran outside and called 000. The noise was so loud that my neighbours called, too.”

After another loud explosion, thought to be from the car inside the garage, the fire ripped through the house.

“I just remember screaming ‘that’s my life in there!’. All I wanted was for my kids’ stuff to be saved,” Jacqui said.

“You just don’t expect this to happen to you. We’ve lost everything.

“My son is in Year 12, so it has impacted his studies, and both he and my daughter are most upset about losing our cat, Milly.”

By the time Michael Evans got home, the house had burnt to the ground.

“We were just so lucky it didn’t happen at night when we were inside sleeping,” Michael said.

“Our fridge was in good condition, and we hadn’t felt the need to check it recently.

“Our garage was probably a bit cluttered, but I wouldn’t say it was so much that you couldn’t move.”

The CFA and Fire Rescue Victoria fire crews responded to 104 garage fires between May 2024 and March 2025.

Victorian fire services are calling for residents to inspect the condition of electrical items that are stored in garages.

The Evans family are hoping to build a similar house, with a few fire-safe modifications.

“We’ll install more smoke alarms and expand the size of the garage,” Michael said.

“We’ve been looking into new power boards with overload protection, and we will get our appliances checked more often.

“Since the incident, a few of my mates have already moved their fridges and cleaned and checked behind them.”

While the Evans family had new working smoke alarms in their house, CFA chief officer Jason Heffernan encouraged residents to install interconnected smoke alarms in areas where devices were charged or stored, such as garages, to allow all alarms to sound.

“Simple additions can make all the difference to your family’s safety, as can inspecting your equipment each year for any damages,” he said.

“If they require repairs, have them done by a certified tradesperson.”

Fire Rescue Victoria community safety deputy commissioner Joshua Fischer said keeping all garages free of clutter was another easy step people could take to safeguard their family.

“A great deal of flammable material can be found in a garage that will allow fires to quickly take hold, such as petrol cans, gas cylinders, other chemicals or lithium-ion batteries, so care needs to be taken when storing these items,” he said.