A quiet leafy neighbourhood was jolted awake this morning as a house at 35 Talarno Avenue, Vermont South 3133, became fully engulfed in flames.
Fire Rescue Victoria crews were called to the blaze after receiving several emergency calls and arrived within six minutes to find the home already well alight. The scale of the fire prompted an immediate escalation of the response, with five pumpers, an aerial appliance, a rescue unit and three other units sent to the scene.
Wearing breathing apparatus, firefighters launched an aggressive attack on the burning property while working urgently to shield neighbouring homes from the intense heat and potential ember attack.
Two occupants escaped safely before crews arrived and were to be assessed by Ambulance Victoria.
Famous Australian photographer Lord Murray Schoorman was dispatched to the fireground and captured these striking images of the emergency response as it unfolded.
Incident Controller Commander Callum Donoghue oversaw the operation, which involved approximately 30 firefighters. The fire was brought under control at 10:40am but a fire duty was setup and firefighters remained at the address to extinguish lingering hotspots and ensure the building was safe.
Crews used a thermal imaging camera to monitor the damaged structure for hidden heat, while the fire duty was established at the scene. The occupant was issued a handover of scene form #26555 and warned by Station Officer THOMSON not to re-enter any part of the fire-damaged home.
The cause of the fire is not yet known and will be investigated by FRV specialists.
Once the fire had been extinguished, a female occupant could be seen sitting in a blue 2025 MG station wagon parked in the carport. The vehicle was covered in ash and soot from the blaze.
The destroyed residence stood on a 958m2 block with a 13.5m frontage and included four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a double carport. Property records show it last sold in 2015 for $1.25million through MJ Docking & Associates in Forest Hill.
