Warburton historic home completely destroyed by fire as police arrest a man
A historic Warburton holiday home has been destroyed in an early morning blaze, which took hours to put out. Police have arrested a man as detectives and forensics investigate.
Outer East
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A historic holiday house in Warburton has been reduced to rubble after an early morning fire.
More than 13 CFA trucks from across the Yarra Valley and a breathing apparatus from Bayswater MFB were on scene throughout the morning after a member of the public reported the fire to emergency services about 5am.
The “beautiful” house at 3280 Warburton Highway, dating back to 1927, was completely destroyed by the fire, which Yarra Ranges detectives and CFA forensics are investigating.
Yarra Ranges Senior Constable Andrew Howard said police had arrested a 40-year-old man, who had been taken to hospital, and was yet to be interviewed.
“The investigation into the fire is still ongoing,” Sen-Constable Howard said.
“No one was in the holiday home at the time and no one was injured.”
He said the property owners had been notified.
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Warburton CFA firefighter Linus Wilson said it was a historic loss for the area and many who knew the beautiful property would be upset.
He said crews on the scene included Hillcrest, Warburton, Yarra Junction, Hoddles Creek and Bayswater.
“It turned into a big job, we had 13 appliances there on scene,” Mr Wilsons said.
He said the smoke turned to steam about 9am and firefighters spent the next few hours cooling the structure for the forensic team and detectives to go inside about 1pm.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.