Two people are dead and two men are in hospital after a fire destroyed a house in Deer Park overnight.
Emergency services were called to an address in Deer Street, Deer Park, about 12.45am on Friday, police said, and it took more than 25 firefighters almost an hour to bring the inferno under control.
Two men were taken to the Western Hospital in Footscray, suffering cuts and smoke inhalation, and the two were discovered in the burnt remains of a house west of Melbourne.
The bodies are yet to be identified.
Crews from the Country Fire Authority and the Metropolitan Fire Brigade teamed up to battle the blaze which had fully engulfed the house by the time emergency services arrived on the scene, according to a spokeswoman.
Neighbour Jake Lynch and his mother Christine live on the same block of land, in a unit behind the destroyed residence.
They were forced to evacuate their home because flames threatened to jump onto their unit.
‘‘We got woken up at 10-to-one this morning by the banging and the yelling,’’ Mr Lynch said.
‘‘And as we looked out on to the driveway, we could see the flames coming out of the lounge room window and heard one of the guys running around yelling ‘fire, fire, fire’. One of the men had a cut on his hand from smashing the window trying to get out.’’
Ms Lynch said she was terribly shaken by the ordeal.
‘‘I was shaking and really frightened,’’ he said. ‘‘We weren’t sure whether the flames would jump and the embers were huge going the driveway with the wind. I was so frightened our place might go. My cats are still inside by themselves.’’
The cause of the fire is yet to be determined and detectives from the arson and explosives squads are on scene.
Police urged anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
