‘Burnt to a crisp’: Insides of a Torquay family home destroyed by fire

A Torquay family woke to flames at the base of their bed when their house was engulfed by fire in the early hours of Friday morning.

CFA crews were supported by FRV, police, ambulance and SES services. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Geraghty

A Torquay family woke to flames at the base of their bed when their house was engulfed by fire in the early hours of Friday morning.

Jade Dighton’s sister and her partner were asleep in their bedroom at the Highlander St property when a blanket caught fire after a lit candle was left at the end of the bed.

“They woke up suddenly to the sound of the smoke alarm and saw flames at the base of the bed, the mattress had caught fire too,” Ms Dighton said.

“The flames burnt their feet, lucky they don’t have third degree burns, but their feet are covered in blisters.”

The family tried to put the flames out by smothering it with fireproof blankets, but it quickly escalated.

Ms Dighton’s mother and sister were also home at the time of the fire, which spread through the ducted heating in the roof.

“The fire spread to my mum’s room, the kitchen area and the roof collapsed,” she said.

A house fire caused the roof of a Torquay family home to collapse. The fire was caused by an attended candle. Picture: Brad Fleet

The family then called emergency services and escaped with only the clothes on their back.

Once outside, they saw flames in the bedroom, windows had smashed and the single story house was “burnt to a crisp”.

Their beloved cat Benson ran away during the fire and, as of Friday night, was still missing.

Emergency services were called to the property at 1.15am and Ms Dighton said about 60 emergency service crew members were at the house for three hours.

A CFA spokeswoman said four trucks and crews from the Torquay and Grovedale fire brigades responded.

The crews were supported by Fire Rescue Victoria, police, ambulance and State Emergency Services.

“Upon arrival, firefighters found the single storey dwelling well alight,” the spokeswoman said.

“The occupants of the house were alerted to the fire by a working smoke alarm, and able to exit the home safely.

“Crews … worked to extinguish the blaze, which was brought under control at 1.51am.”

“(It is) a timely reminder to never leave candles unattended,” she said.

Ms Dighton said her family was “doing OK”, but was still in shock.

Members of the Torquay community have already reached out the family and offered to donate clothes and food.

The family will be staying with Ms Dighton in the interim while their insurance company helps them to find permanent accommodation.

Originally published as ‘Burnt to a crisp’: Insides of a Torquay family home destroyed by fire