A three-year-old boy has died, and his father has been taken to hospital with serious injuries after a fire tore through a family home in Werribee overnight.
Emergency services were called to Newbury Street just after midnight on Monday, following multiple Triple Zero calls reporting a house fire. Fire Rescue Victoria said crews arrived to find a single-storey brick home, about 20 metres by 15 metres, fully engulfed by flames.
The child has been identified in media reports as Jordan Dashwood. Firefighters extinguished the blaze before locating the boy dead inside the home.
His father, named in reports as 40-year-old Jeremy Dashwood, was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. He reportedly tried to smash a window to get back inside the burning home in an attempt to save his son.
An 11-year-old boy, reportedly Jordan’s brother, escaped the fire by jumping from a window. Other residents also managed to get out of the home, with reports that a neighbour helped family members escape by breaking through a gate.
FRV said 40 firefighters responded to the blaze, with the first crews arriving within three minutes of the initial call. The fire was brought under control at about 1.13 am, after crews battled the flames for more than an hour.
Victoria Police said the circumstances surrounding the fire are being investigated. At this stage, the fire is not being treated as suspicious, but an arson chemist is expected to attend the scene.
Fire Rescue Victoria said peer support and counselling had been made available to first responders who attended the fatal fire.
The tragedy has shaken the Werribee community, with emergency services remaining at the scene on Monday as investigators worked to determine how the fire started.
Anyone with information about the incident has been urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
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