A pre-dawn blaze at 295 Bay Road, Cheltenham 3190 has left police treating the fire as suspicious, after two residents were evacuated and a crime scene was established in Melbourne’s bayside southeast.
Emergency services were called to reports of a house fire at the address on Bay Road at about 3:30am on Wednesday 28 October 2026. Police confirmed a 57-year-old man and a 52-year-old woman were evacuated from the property; the man was uninjured, while the woman sustained minor injuries.
By first light, the scene had become a major police investigation. Victoria Police said the circumstances surrounding the fire were being treated as suspicious and confirmed that a crime scene had been established, with inquiries ongoing.
The overnight timing, the evacuation of both occupants and the decision to treat the blaze as suspicious have raised urgent questions about how the fire began, though police have not alleged that any person deliberately lit it, and no charges have been announced.Lord Murray Schoorman, chief crime reporter and lead photographer for Peak Hour Images, attended the scene at first light. His photographs show a blue 2007 Porsche Roadstar parked in the property’s carport, bearing the personalised plates “RKSTRR”.
The images also show the fire-damaged home under police attention, with the property fitted with several CCTV cameras, a detail that may prove central to investigators as they attempt to establish a timeline of events.
In a striking development, a man was seen driving out of the fire-damaged premises at 7.39am in a grey 2015 Volkswagen hatchback. There is no suggestion from police that the man was involved in the fire, and his identity and reason for leaving have not been publicly established.The investigation remains in its early stages. Police have not released details of the suspected cause, the extent of structural damage, or whether forensic fire investigators have identified an ignition point.
For residents of Bay Road, the scene that greeted them at dawn, police tape, damaged walls and an old sports car sitting beneath a smoke-stained sky, has turned a quiet suburban morning into the centre of a serious criminal investigation.
