Chaffey Square house fire in Corio not deemed suspicious by police

A witness has revealed more details of the chaotic scenes in Corio on Good Friday when police were forced to use pepper spray after a large group of people descended on the scene of a major house fire.

The remains of the Chaffey Square home. Picture: Alan Barber.

A witness has revealed more details of the chaotic scenes in Corio on Good Friday when police were forced to use pepper spray after a large group of people descended on the scene of a major house fire.

Authorities were forced to disperse the crowd so emergency services could access the site after a gas bottle exploded and sparked the destructive blaze.

The house was gutted and badly burned possessions and children’s toys could be seen among the charred debris.

A man who was at the Chaffey Square property told of jumping the fence to escape the blast and trying to fight the fire with a garden hose before the street filled with onlookers and officers.

He said he had never seen so many police in the area – even at a recent hours-long stand-off involving special operations officers and an armoured vehicle.

“There was a siege not long ago, and there was nowhere near as many coppers,” he said.

The scene of a house fire in Chaffey Square. Picture: Alan Barber.

Police confirmed a number of people had to be pepper sprayed at the fire scene on Friday afternoon because they were “hindering” investigations.

It is understood one of the occupants of the house was among those sprayed.

“Several verbal commands and instructions given to a large amount of people to back away by VicPol to allow Fire Rescue Victoria to safely undertake control of the fire were ignored,” police said.

Emergency services were called to the scene about 3pm and arrived to find the property fully ablaze.

It is believed the fire started as a result of the gas bottle accidentally exploding in the backyard while someone was using it.

The house was quickly engulfed after the explosion.

The witness said he heard a “big bang” and saw flames before “it was all black smoke”.

The scene of the Chaffey Square house fire. Picture: Alan Barber.

The man, who did not want to be named, said he jumped the back fence to escape the initial explosion, and then went around the front of the house to use a hose to try and extinguish the fire.

The scene quickly grew tense with high emotions and multiple people gathering at the property.

It’s understood police, firefighters and Powercor were all on site.

The witness claimed a woman who lived at the home was angry because she was worried about her belongings and was subsequently pepper sprayed by officers along with others.

Neighbours were reluctant to speak about the incident when approached by the Geelong Advertiser.

Police did not arrest anyone in relation to the fire and the blaze was deemed non suspicious.

It is believed no one was hospitalised as a result of the fire.

Originally published as Chaffey Square house fire in Corio not deemed suspicious by police