House fire under investigation

24/10/17 North West Photography Issue Oct 31 Harkness Rd Melton West house fire. Pic Marco De Luca

A fire that gutted an abandoned Melton West house last week is being treated as suspicious.

Firefighters were called to the Harkness Road property at 11.55pm last Monday and found the house engulfed in flames.

At least 15 Country Fire Authority vehicles turned out to the blaze which was contained and under control just after midnight.

The abandoned house was on about 20 hectares of grassland. Records show that the property was last sold in 2011.

Melton police told

Star Weekly that the cause of the fire is still unknown. They would not speculate on whether it was an arson attack.

They could not confirm whether the property had been occupied by squatters before the fire.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.