By Cassandra Morgan
A man has died and a toddler is fighting for life in hospital after a fire at a home in central Victoria.
The fire broke out at the single-storey home in Barr Street, Maryborough, about 60 kilometres north of Ballarat, about 11.45am on Thursday.
Local Country Fire Authority crews were called to the blaze, and declared the scene safe just after 12pm. A man who is yet to be identified died at the house.
Two women were treated for non-life-threatening injuries, alongside a three-year-old child. One of the women was aged in her 30s, while a woman in her 70s was taken to Maryborough Public Hospital, Ambulance Victoria said.
A two-year-old child was flown to the Royal Children’s Hospital. The toddler was in a critical condition on Thursday, and Nine News reported the child had suffered smoke inhalation.
“For a rural country town, obviously people are well known and well connected, so this is a tragedy,” Maryborough Senior Sergeant David Flood said. “It is unexpected.”
Senior paramedic Ben Miller said crews had a “horrific job”.
“Our appreciation goes to the [Country Fire Authority] crew who extracted both those patients out of the fire under very difficult circumstances,” he said.
Police declared the home a crime scene, and an arson chemist was called in to investigate the cause of the blaze.
As of Thursday evening, the cause was yet to be determined, and the investigation was ongoing.
Police urged anyone with information about the fire to come forward.
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