Police investigating after two killed in house fire

A man and a young child have been confirmed as the victims of a house fire near Melbourne.

Two people have been found dead after a house fire southwest of Melbourne in the early hours of Monday morning. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

A Vietnam veteran and a young child have been confirmed as the victims of a house fire which broke out south west of Melbourne in the early hours of Monday morning.

Emergency services were called to the house in Forest Road North, Lara at about 4:45am, where crews managed to extinguish a fire but found two bodies, one of a 74-year-old man and the other an 11-year-old boy, inside the property.

Local media reported late on Monday that the 74-year-old deceased man was Vietnam veteran Peter Cochrane, who had lived at the home for several years.

Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Guthrie said firefighters had described the blaze as “one of the worst” they had seen.

Senior Sergeant Guthrie said another child, 10, who was the younger brother of the child who was killed, managed to escape.

Two people have died after a house fire in Lara, southwest of Melbourne, on Monday morning. Picture: 3AW.

“It’s certainly not suspicious; it’s a tragic accident that’s occurred,” he said.

He said the older man was a family friend of the younger children, who it is understood had been staying in the same bedroom under his care.

He said police were preparing a report for the coroner, and said the mother of the children was “devastated”.

“Probably can’t describe how she’s feeling,” he said.

Mick Lavery, Commander at the Lara Country Fire Authority, told NCA NewsWire on Monday it took eight fire trucks and 30 firefighters to control the blaze.

“It was very intense,” Mr Lavery said.

He described the property as a single-storey brick residential home.

A spokesperson for Ambulance Victoria said paramedics were called to the scene shortly after 4:40am, where they assessed a school-aged boy at the scene.

The spokesperson said no emergency treatment or transport was required.