Mother and daughter critical after Brunswick blaze

Investigators have praised the “bravery” of a mother who stayed with her wheelchair bound daughter as flames engulfed their Brunswick home.

A mother waited in a burning house with her wheelchair bound daughter who was unable to escape the flames.

Firefighters rescued the Brunswick pair who are now in a critical condition.

Neighbours called triple-0 after noticing the blaze at the weatherboard home at 12.20am.

A rescue crew found the woman, in her 70s, and her daughter, in her 40s, inside the home which was “fully alight”.

Another family member was on the street calling for help.

The father, a man in his 70s, was also treated by paramedics for smoke inhalation and taken to the Alfred. He remains in a stable condition.

It took firefighters 45 minutes to bring the blaze at the single storey under control.

A neighbour said the woman’s husband was in the street screaming for help before others called emergency services.

“His wife and daughter were still in the house, he was shouting for people to come and help him,” she said.

“I looked out and I could see the huge fire through my window.”

Another neighbour, Lewis Spiteri, said firefighters were quick to douse the flames.

“I heard sirens and lots of yelling, and came out and couldn’t see any flames,” Mr Spiteri said.

Two people are in a critical condition and another has serious injuries after a fire ripped through a home in Brunswick. Picture: David Crosling

A mother stayed inside the burning home with her wheelchair bound daughter until firefighters arrived to rescue the pair. Picture: David Crosling

“It’s very sad, this kind of thing can happen within seconds. Hopefully they will recover.”

The back of the home was gutted by flames, which had also spread to the side of the house next door.

Tommy Sawce and his partner rushed to alert residents behind the house when they saw the smoke from hundreds of metres away.

“We saw all the smoke from at least 300 metres away, we were knocking on people’s doors behind the house,” Mr Sawce said.

The pair may have helped an elderly couple out from their home in the nick of time.

“They were pretty reluctant to come with us at first, but you could see the glow of the fire through their sliding doors,” he said.

“They ended up coming out, it was probably a good call because it looks like the back of their house got damaged.

“It was a pretty hectic fire, it was full on, you could smell it and everything.”

Moreland Crime Investigation Unit Senior Constable Mathew Duddington said investigations into the cause of the fire were still ongoing.

The two women remained in a critical condition after suffering smoke inhalation and were intubated in the ICU, Mr Duddington said.

He praised the bravery of the mother who remained with her daughter inside the house.

“A lot of people wouldn’t step inside that sort of scenario, it was quite brave,” Mr Duddington said.

The home was extensively damaged in the blaze. Picture: David Crosling

“The fire was quite large and it was lucky not to spread to other houses, the damage was extensive.”

Mr Duddington said the woman in her 40s had muscular dystrophy and may have relied on the use of a mobility scooter.

He said he believed the scooter had been burnt out inside the home.

“We’re still investigating the cause, we still need to speak to the male resident.”

He praised the father for running out onto the street to raise the alarm and a neighbour for rushing to his assistance.

“There’s a lot of housing around here … anyone who may have been on scene at the time of the fire should reach out and ring Crimestoppers or the Brunswick Police Station.”

Next door neighbour Troy, who did not want his surname published, said he misread the size of the fire and immediately grabbed a hose to try and protect his house.

“When you look at the photos from neighbours, it was a lot more developed in the house, I thought maybe it was just at the back,” Troy said.

“I could see it coming over the back of our house, so I went to the courtyard to get the hose and fought the fire.

“I was trying to hose their roof, their home was pretty overgrown - I reckon it saved our house. It was quite an inferno.”

Troy said he did not think the daughter was living at the home.

“We don’t know them well, they’re pretty reclusive, but I just want to know that they’re okay,” he said.