By Luke Voogt
A child playing with a lighter has burned down her family’s home at Corio, according to police.
The blaze destroyed the house in Harding St early on Thursday morning, leaving the family of six homeless.
Senior Constable Nikki Drever said that two adults and four children were inside when the fire began at 6.30am.
“We’ve organised crisis accommodation for them,” she told the Indy on Thursday.
Fire fighters took less than 30 minutes to bring the fire under control but were unable to stop the blaze before it ruined the house.
Police initially treated the fire as suspicious and called in the Arson Squad, Sen Const Drever said.
But the Arson Squad investigation was cancelled when police at the scene determined the cause, she said.
The fire began in one of the children’s bedrooms as a result of a seven-year-old playing with a lighter.
“We just want to reiterate how important it is for children not to play with lighters and matches,” Sen Const Drever said.
Paramedics treated a man, believed to be in his 50s, at the scene for smoke inhalation. An ambulance took him to hospital in a stable condition.
The occupants were renting the home without contents insurance, Sen Const Drever said.
Meanwhile, a mother and her three children suffered smoke inhalation after fleeing a fire at their Portarlington home.
Fire fighters arrived at the Stevens St house just before 4am to find it alight.
Police said they believed that an electrical appliance may have caused the fire.
Smoke alarms alerted the women and her children, allowing them to escape, police said.
Paramedics took them to Geelong hospital for observation.
They were also treated for mild smoke inhalation.
