By Justin Flynn
A father and son who died in a house fire at Ocean Grove on Monday morning were kind souls and active in the community, according to friends and neighbours.
Paul Solo, 90, and David, 57, died when a fire gutted their two-storey weatherboard house on Powell St West around 4am on Monday.
Emergency services found one body in a bedroom and the other in a bathroom.
Authorities have yet to confirm the cause of the blaze but people who knew the pair said they regularly used the house’s open fireplace.
Paul Solo was a former primary school teacher and an amateur historian with many books and artefacts.
David Solo had an extensive vinyl record collection, which a neighbour estimated to number in “the hundreds if not thousands”.
The two were inseparable and were regularly seen walking around town, neighbours said.
David was his father’s full-time carer.
They had been a part of the Ocean Grove community since the 1970s, regularly attending St Peter’s Anglican Church.
“They were both unconditionally kind and generous of heart,” said a neighbour, who did not want to be named.
“They were both friendly and lovely souls. They would talk to anyone.
“They were both sweet and caring. Neither of them would have hurt a fly.
“Everyone is just devastated.”
The fatal fire was Ocean Grove’s second in six weeks. Dawn Webster died in a house fire on Arcturus Road in July.
Police urged anyone with information about this week’s fire to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via crimestoppersvic.com.au.
