A three-year-old boy has died and a man has been rushed to hospital with severe burns after a house fire in Melbourne’s outer southwest.
The blaze had fully engulfed the home on Newbury St, Werribee when crews arrived at the scene after midnight on Monday.
A child – now identified as Jordan Dashwood, 3 – died at the scene.
A 40-year-old man – reportedly Jordan’s father Jeremy Dashwood – was rushed to hospital with serious injuries.
“The circumstances surrounding the fire are being investigated and an arson chemist will attend the scene,” a police spokeswoman said.
Police said the fire was not being treated as suspicious.
A neighbour told 7News that he had ripped a green gate from its hinges to help the other two family members – reported to be a mother and an 11-year-old boy – escape the home.
Fire and Rescue Victoria said 40 firefighters responded to the blaze, with crews arriving on scene within three minutes of the initial call.
Speaking to reporters on Monday morning, Assistant Chief Fire Officer Anthony Pearce said the incident was “a tragedy” and it was “too early to tell” what the cause was.
“(It is) quite a tragic scene behind us. The circumstances involved in this fire and the cause will be investigated during the day,” he said.
“There’s a lot of investigation both in the scene and engaging with people to try to understand what’s happened.
“The fire scene is quite dangerous, there’s a lot of loose and broken tiles on the roof and it’s not a building that’s safe to walk through at this stage.”
Crews battled the blaze for more than an hour, bringing it under control by 1.13am.
Firefighters are still on scene “to ensure the safety of the area”.
Anyone with relevant information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
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