Police rescued two dogs from the yard of a burning house in Sydenham this morning.
Two police officers raised the alarm after noticing smoke coming from a rear unit along Pecks Road about 10.42am.
They checked the property to see if anyone was home when they noticed the two dogs in the backyard.
They retrieved the dogs before emergency services arrived.
About 20 firefighters and seven tankers battled the fire for more than an hour but were unable to save the single storey brick unit.
Early estimates indicate the damage bill will be about $500,000.
The property owner arrived home to find her house destroyed.
MFB & @CFA_Updates firefighters battling fire together in #Sydenham. Lots of smoke in the area. ^PS pic.twitter.com/bVGM906rO1
— Paul Stacchino (@MFBChief) October 5, 2016
An MFB spokeswoman said the unit was fully alight when fire crews arrived. Residents were advised to stay indoors after a thick blanket of smoke covered the suburb.
“Within a few minutes the entire unit was fully ablaze and blanketing the area in smoke,” the spokeswoman said.
“The fire was quite fierce and threatened to spread to nearby units before firefighters managed to get the upper hand and bring the fire under control.”
Catholic Regional College Sydenham principal Brendan Watson said the school was unaffected but students had been asked to remain indoors as a precaution.
“We just told the students to wait until the firefighters have everything under control.”
MFB wants to assure parents that the Catholic Regional College on Pecks Rd is NOT closed. Students all safe. #Sydenham
— MFB (@MFB_NEWS) October 5, 2016
The cause of the fire is yet to be determined and will be investigated.
