A 20-YEAR-OLD man died and four of his family members narrowly escaped a tragic house fire that destroyed their home in Beaufort, West of Ballarat.
A family of five was inside the house when the blaze broke out shortly before 5.45am yesterday.
The dead man's mum, sister and brother, fled as the inferno engulfed the Halpin St property and escaped unharmed.
Another brother, 22, was taken to Ballarat Hospital where he was treated for smoke inhalation but later released.
Firefighters discovered the body of the dead man, whose name has not been released, as they battled to control the blaze about 5.50am.
Beufort CFA captain Col Gerrard arrived at the scene to find the man's brothers in shock.
``When I got there two young blokes weere out the front, I asked if anyone was inside and they hoped their brother had gone out the back,'' he said.
``When it was clear they hadn't, they were just distraught but there was nothing we could do by then.''
Neighbour Marjorie Vowles
The cause of the fire is not yet known.
Country Fire Authority spokeswoman Lynne Simpson said details of the fatality were still being investigated.
"The house was well alight when brigades arrived,'' she said.
"They weren't sure at the time if anyone was in the house so they conducted a search and unfortunately there was a person inside.''
It took about 20 fire-fighters about 40 minutes to bring the fire under control.
Victoria Police spokeswoman Constable Angela Avery said the house was completely destroyed when police arrived at the scene.
CFA investigators and police will today investigate what caused the blaze.
3 июл 2009
