Crime scene established after three houses caught fire in Albion

A crime scene has been established after three houses caught fire in Albion with one completely destroyed and the other two badly damaged. WATCH THE VIDEO

A crime scene has been established after three houses caught fire in the early hours of Sunday morning in Albion.

Emergency services arrived to the scene at around 2.30am where they found three houses fully alight on Gore St.

Firefighters worked into the morning on site to distinguish the flare ups.

The fire completely destroyed one home while gutting the two neighbouring properties.

Two of the houses were residential while one property was a latin dance class studio called Paradizo Dance.

Emergency services at scene of a fire that destroyed three properties overnight. Picture: Richard Walker

Footage from the night of the incident shows the flames well above all other buildings

The destroyed home is known as “The Church” and is said to be a hub for local artists and musicians in the area.

It’s understood that most of the occupants in the house were away for the weekend, and still might not know of the damage done to the house.

A GoFundMe page was set up on Sunday afternoon with $570 raised in the first two hours.

“The Church and neighbouring houses burned down Saturday 30 October. Many of the people are away this weekend and will come back to nothing. Let’s get some emergency money together for them straight away,” the post read.

“You love these people and this place gave us all so much. Help them out now when they’re really going to need it.”

You can contribute to the GoFundMe here.

The father of the woman who owned the building of the dance studio, Paradizo, next door said it was “horrible” as he had built the home for her years ago.

Because of the fire, the top of the building has been gutted entirely and the floor on the top level has caved in.

The man said that the bottom level of the building was fortunately saved thanks to the brick side wall.

A man who attended the dance classes at Paradizo was at the studio last night until 1am, but didn’t see anyone at the now-destroyed home.

Emergency services at scene of overnight fire in Gore Street, Albion, on Sunday, October 31, 2021. Picture: Richard Walker

“We see lots of parties, fights and stuff there but there wasn’t anyone home in that house when we were there,” he said.

The woman who ran the dance studio lived upstairs and it’s understood she heard two bangs right before the fire started just before 3am.

A man from a neighbouring business said that the destroyed house was a bit “run-down” and there was a group of 10 to 15 people who occupied it at one time.

He referred to it as a “bit of a hippie commune”.

Police are treating the fires as suspicious and a crime scene has been established as investigators work to determine the cause.

There were no physical injuries and all occupants inside the buildings were accounted for.

Anyone who observed any suspicious behaviour in the area prior to the incident is urged to speak to police.