A woman has died after her house was engulfed in flames early on Friday morning.
Jessica Pereira, 32, was in her Conrad Street home in St Albans, in Melbourne’s northwest, when it caught alight at 6am on Friday.
Firefighters arrived within a few minutes to see flames and smoke billowing from the roof, with neighbouring properties also at risk.
Thirty firefighters battled the blaze for about 20 minutes before it was extinguished and they could pull Ms Pereira’s body from the house.
Paramedics worked to resuscitate the 32-year-old but she could not be saved.
A crime scene has since been set up and detectives from the Arson and Explosives Squad as well as an arson chemist were seen inspecting the property on Friday.
Jessica Pereira, 32, died after being caught in a fire in her Conrad Street home in St Albans, Melbourne
The home caught fire at 6am on Friday and fire crews rushed to extinguish the flames
One neighbour said he could feel the heat from his house when he saw ‘flames coming out’ of Ms Pereira’s roof.
‘That’s how bad it was, I could feel the heat,’ he told Nine News.
Fire Rescue Victoria Incident Controller Nicholas Allen said his crews saw ‘flames were protruding from the front and sides of the building’.
‘They worked effectively and swiftly in order to contain that fire to that property of origin,’ he told reporters.
Mr Allen said that multiple factors made the job of extinguishing the house difficult including falling debris, excessive smoke and asbestos inside the property.
Because of these risks their response was ‘escalated’ and firefighters were fitted with special breathing equipment before continuing their work.
Investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing.
Ms Pereira’s devastated family were seen consoling each other outside her house following the tragedy.
