House fire soon under control, but damage is done

A FIRE which destroyed a Melton West Drive home on Wednesday is not believed to have been deliberately lit.

CFA Melton senior station officer Cory Woodyatt said it was lucky no one was at the Melton West home when the fire started at 3.05pm on January 23.

A neighbour called the CFA and the fire was under control within 15 minutes.

Three firefighting appliances from Melton, two brigade trucks and a specialist breathing apparatus support truck from Sunbury were used to fight the blaze.

The owner of the house arrived while the fire was being controlled.

Mr Woodyatt estimated the value of the house and contents at $200,000.

“People need to remain vigilant and ensure smoke alarms are working and that evaporative coolers are serviced every year.

“And obviously they should have a working fire escape plan.”

Mr Woodyatt said fire investigators had been unable to determine the cause of the fire at this stage.

—Andria Cozza

More pictures: meltonweekly.com.au