A three-year-old boy has died and a man has been rushed to hospital with severe burns after a house fire in Melbourne\u2019s outer southwest.<\/p>\n
The blaze had fully engulfed the home on Newbury St, Werribee when crews arrived at the scene after midnight on Monday.<\/p>\n
A child \u2013 now identified as Jordan Dashwood, 3 \u2013 died at the scene.<\/p>\n
A 40-year-old man \u2013 reportedly Jordan\u2019s father Jeremy Dashwood \u2013 was rushed to hospital with serious injuries.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe circumstances surrounding the fire are being investigated and an arson chemist will attend the scene,\u201d a police spokeswoman said.<\/p>\n
Police said the fire was not being treated as suspicious.<\/p>\n
A neighbour told 7News that he had ripped a green gate from its hinges to help the other two family members \u2013 reported to be a mother and an 11-year-old boy \u2013 escape the home.<\/p>\n
Fire and Rescue Victoria said 40 firefighters responded to the blaze, with crews arriving on scene within three minutes of the initial call.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters on Monday morning, Assistant Chief Fire Officer Anthony Pearce said the incident was \u201ca tragedy\u201d and it was \u201ctoo early to tell\u201d what the cause was.<\/p>\n
\u201c(It is) quite a tragic scene behind us. The circumstances involved in this fire and the cause will be investigated during the day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of investigation both in the scene and engaging with people to try to understand what\u2019s happened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fire scene is quite dangerous, there\u2019s a lot of loose and broken tiles on the roof and it\u2019s not a building that\u2019s safe to walk through at this stage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crews battled the blaze for more than an hour, bringing it under control by 1.13am.<\/p>\n
Firefighters are still on scene \u201cto ensure the safety of the area\u201d.<\/p>\n
Anyone with relevant information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.<\/p>\n