Melanie Menzies living in tent after losing Chaffey Square home and being pepper sprayed following devastating blaze

A Corio mother who lost three babies in a life marred by tragedy, is now living in a tent after a devastating house fire and wild scenes involving multiple police and pepper spray.

A Corio mother living in a tent after losing everything in a house fire – including her deceased children’s belongings – has told of being “maced” by police at the chaotic scene of the blaze.

Melanie Menzies, 39, had lived at her home in Chaffey Square for 16 years before a leak from a gas bottle saw the house engulfed by flame.

Ms Menzies has lost three babies and is living with a tumour. She said she was “just coping”.

“I’m trying to be strong for my kids. It’s not easy. I don’t know how much more I can take,” Ms Menzies said.

“I have had a lot of stuff go down in my life. I’ve lost my children, we’ve had a lot of trouble.

“It just seems like life keeps kicking us down. Every time we’re up, we get kicked back down. It’s not easy at all,” she said.

An emotional Ms Menzies was surrounded by family and friends when she revisited what was once her home and recalled the terrible events of Good Friday.

Melanie Menzies with her sons Reece and Jacob Hutchinson and partner Corey Hanson at what remains of their home. Picture: Alan Barber

“We were out the back, then all of a sudden I heard this ‘tink’, then I heard this gas leak and all of a sudden it was like a big whoosh.

“Then I saw flames out my window and went out to the front door area and I yelled out to my kids because I didn’t know what else to do.

“I was freaking out, I didn’t grab anything, I was left with nothing. I was sitting there watching it and I turned around and saw my house in flames.

“It was as high as I could see, there was really dark thick black smoke and it was all out the backyard and I could see flames coming out my window.

“It was upsetting knowing all my belongings were burning and I was losing everything, I was in hysterics.

“I have a lot of things which were burnt that I can never replace.

“It just went so quick and so fast. There was no chance to go back in the house and try and retrieve anything after me and my kids left.

“I was so worried about my house and the kids and I just wanted to know that my kids were safe.

“I didn’t know what I was thinking. I was hysterical. I was beside myself,” she said.

The fire drew a large police presence with multiple officers and vehicles at the scene and many residents gathering near the blaze.

A large contingent of police were on site to assist firefighters battling the house fire in Chaffey Square, Corio. Picture: Alison Wynd

In tense scenes of high emotion, Ms Menzies and her son and stepdaughter were pepper sprayed.

Ms Menzies, an asthmatic, said she had difficulty breathing and a felt a burning sensation for hours afterwards. She claimed her son, Reece Hutchinson, had come to tend to her because she was being harassed.

At the time of the incident police said they sprayed a group of people because they were hindering emergency services at the fire scene.

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

Ms Menzies said she was trying to defuse the situation because her friend was pushed back by firefighters and nearly fell over.

“I was pretty angry and sad because I’m losing everything and we are the last people who should be copping anything.

“As soon as people started to get a little hostile, they didn’t try to calm anything down.

She also claimed police pointed a Taser in her direction.

The scene of the fire in Chaffey Square, Corio. Picture: Alan Barber

Mr Hutchinson claimed a police officer tackled him to the ground, pulling his hair and another then “maced” his whole body.

“The whole square was full of police cars, I didn’t know they had that many police cars in Geelong. There were like 20 of them,” he said.

“There was no need for us, of all people, to be harassed and maced and threatened to be tasered,” Ms Menzies said.

“It was ridiculous. Like, we’re losing everything. We literally watched our house, our livelihood, all burned to the ground,” she said.

Ms Menzies is now living in a tent in the backyard of a friend’s home, while her children are living with their aunties and uncles.

She is now waiting for government housing but is unsure how long that could take.

In one piece of good news, the family found their cat safe after the fire.

Damaged possessions at the fire scene. Picture: Alan Barber

Mr Hutchinson said he was extremely saddened with the events of the past few days.

“Everyday I wake up, and expect to go to my mum's home again. She’s been here for 16 years.

“I will always know where my home is, this is my home, it’s not anymore, everything is all gone. It’s just s---, I don’t even want to come here anymore,” he said.

His brother, Jacob, said the past few days had felt surreal.

“The day after it just felt like a dream, like it wasn’t real.

Ms Menzies said seeing the fire-ravaged house was devastating.

“My home, my livelihood, my memories are gone. Thank goodness I have got my kids, my partner, and my sister-in-law.

The Corio family lost everything to the flames. Picture: Alan Barber

When asked what it was like living in an area that had seen a lot of trouble, the family unanimously responded “it’s home”.

“It’s not the best community, but it’s the best people. It’s our identity,” Mr Hutchinson said.

“We have a lot of good people around here, and this is where we are really comfy,” Ms Menzies added.

“We appreciate everything and we can’t wait to start building ourselves back together,” she said.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to support Ms Menzies and her family. To donate, visit Help Melanie, Corey and kids start again.

Originally published as Melanie Menzies living in tent after losing Chaffey Square home and being pepper sprayed following devastating blaze