An off-duty volunteer firefighter single-handedly put out a fire at KFC Pacific Werribee recently while he was getting his morning coffee.
Hoppers Crossing firefighter Colin Camilleri said he was playing on his phone while waiting for a coffee at the Groove Train on May 28 when someone pointed out smoke coming out of KFC.
“I stuck my head up and I could see flames reflecting out of the window of the drive-through,” Mr Camilleri said.
“There was a young girl in there at the time and she was trying to put the fire out herself and couldn’t do it, so I put the fire blanket over it and used the chemical extinguisher to extinguish some of the flames that were going up the back into the exhaust fan.
“By the time the fire brigade got there, the flames were extinguished.
Mr Camilleri, who joined the Hoppers Crossing Fire Brigade just after the Black Saturday bushfires, said he was simply in the right place at the right time.
“I’m a little bit humbled by everyone saying it was good what I had done … to me, it was something that any firey would have done.
“Being able to assist people in their time of need is a special feeling.”
A KFC spokeswoman said the cause of the fire was still being investigated.
“We are grateful for Colin’s quick thinking in assisting the restaurant. We are thankful no one was injured as a result of the fire,” the spokeswoman said.
