Woman under police guard in hospital after 'suspicious' house fire
A man is fighting for his life, an 11-year-old boy is in a stable condition and a woman is under police guard in hospital after a house fire in Melbourne's north-east.
The MFB and paramedics were called to reports of a fire at a home on Wattle Drive in Macleod at 5.40am.
A 49-year-old man, who lives at the house, was taken to The Alfred hospital with burns to his hands, feet and face. A hospital spokeswoman said the man was in a critical condition as of 10.30am.
A woman and an 11-year-old boy, who were both at the house at the time, were also taken to hospital.
"A woman in her 40s and a primary-school-aged boy were assessed at the scene for smoke inhalation and taken to the Austin Hospital by road ambulance for observation. They were both in a stable condition," an Ambulance Victoria spokeswoman said.
Police are currently at the scene and are treating the fire as suspicious.
A Victoria Police spokeswoman said the 36-year-old Macleod woman was currently under police guard and the investigation into the incident remains ongoing.
Next-door neighbour Frank said he did not hear any loud noises at the house overnight but woke to see the flashing lights of the fire trucks outside his home.
"I saw an ambulance, a couple of trucks so I went out and I asked them what happened and he said there was fire in the bedroom of this house. I asked how were the people, the woman's OK, boy is OK, man is a bit burnt," he said.
He doesn't know the neighbours well but said they were friendly.
"I say hello, I had a chance to talk to them a couple of months ago about the new fence, I went to the house and talked to them. The wife told me she got cancer, she's sick. The husband is a nice man," he said.
An MFB spokeswoman said earlier the fire brigade got a call at 5.40am for a house fire, and reports of someone injured in the fire.
"We did a little bit of venting of smoke ... the call was deemed suspicious so police are investigating," she said.