A house fire in Lara has claimed the lives of two people in the early hours of Monday morning.
A 74-year-old man and an 11-year-old boy died in what police described as one of the most intense fires in the region in recent times.
Another 10-year-old boy was also in the house at the time of the fire, but was “extremely lucky” to have escaped the blaze that killed his brother and their family friend, Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Guthrie said.
Detective Senior Sergeant Guthrie said at this stage the fire was not being treated as suspicious, although the exact cause was still unknown.
“It was certainly not an electrical fault; we’re not too sure at this stage,” he said.
“It’s a tragic accident that’s occurred, and we’re now in the process of preparing a report for the coroner.”
Emergency services were alerted to the fire on Forrest Road North in Lara about 4.50am Monday, and managed to extinguish the fire after arriving.
“There was another young boy, 10 years of age, that was able to get out unharmed, and he’s now in the care of his mother,” Detective Senior Sergeant Guthrie said.
“The mother is devastated; we probably can’t really describe how she’s feeling. She’s caring for her son at this stage, who’s also traumatised.”
Detective Senior Sergeant Guthrie said the incident would be tough on the entire Lara community, including the local emergency service personnel who attended the scene.
“We’re all human, we’ve all got family, so it affects us in a way as well,” he said.
“It’s bad for everyone, especially in a small community like Lara. But hopefully the community of Lara rallies behind (those affected) and gives them some assistance and some comfort in this time.”
