Are mice causing house fires?

The need to control mice in roof spaces has been highlighted amid concern the pests may be sparking house fires.

The warning follows a fire that almost claimed a Blighty dairy farmer's life on Friday morning.

The man had to be taken to hospital after being rescued from his burning home.

Doug Adamson from the Mid Murray Zone of the Rural Fire Service says the fire started in the ceiling and mice are suspected to have chewed through wires.

He says people on farms or in towns suffering from the rodents should be very wary.

"You've just got to try and control them as best you can," he said.

"Keep em out of the roof with baits and traps if you can and keep an eye on the roof if you possibly can. This was a pretty old home so probably a bit more susceptible," he said.

"They're a genuine problem and this is the second fire in probably the last month or six weeks where because we can't come really come up with a cause or difficult to come up with a cause, we tend to think it might be mice," said Mr Adamson.

^{Source: ABC News Australia}