By Laura Michell
Two house fires in Broadmeadows, started within eight hours of each other, have been declared suspicious by Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV).
The first fire was at a Graham Street house about 6.40pm yesterday.
Crews arrived on the scene within five minutes and found the house well alight, with smoke and flames billowing from the roof, FRV said.
Firefighters entered the single storey brick house with water lines to attack the fire and to also conduct a search of the house to ensure no occupants were inside. No one was found.
The fire was declared under control about 7.11pm.
FRV said a “watching duty” was put in place, with firefighters remaining on the scene to extinguish hot spots to prevent the fire restarting.
The second fire broke out at a Meredith Street house about 2.42am.
A neighbour called triple-0 to report a fire at a bungalow at the rear of a property.
FRV said firefighters worked quickly to get water on the bungalow from two sides, preventing it spreading to the family home.
The occupants of the home evacuated safely to the front of the house at the letter box, FRV said.
Residents in two nearby units were also evacuated for a short period as a safety precaution.
The fire was declared under control within approx. seventeen minutes of arriving on scene.
FRV said the cause of both fires has been deemed to be suspicious and the scenes will be handed over to police once safe.
