Cat causes house fire in Adelaide

A family cat has ignited a costly house fire in Adelaide after jumping onto the kitchen bench and accidentally turning on the cooktop.

Fire authorities quickly extinguished a blaze after being called to a house fire at Earle Street, Hillcrest on Tuesday night after passers-by heard a smoke alarm.

The Metropolitan Fire Service pointed the finger at the cat, who was the only living creature at home, after ruling out the possibility the ceramic cooktop suffered an electrical fault or was accidentally left on.

An MFS spokeswoman said it was likely the cat jumped onto the cooker, which could be turned on by pressing one button, and this then set fire to cereal boxes left on the benchtop.

The cat was unhurt but the fire caused $40,000 in damage after spreading from the cooktop to the ceiling.