‘They poured petrol all over it’; Toorak mansion owner reveals

Aussie extension king Gerry Hoggard is revealed as the victim of Friday’s firebombing and says mystery attackers wanted to burn his mansion to the ground.

A two-storey mansion in an prestigious suburb of Toorak has gone up in flames in the early hours of Friday morning. Picture: ABC

Australia’s renovation and extension king got a “hell of a shock” to see a raging inferno destroying his half-built Toorak mansion and has revealed petrol was “poured over every floor and every room” in a deliberate firebombing attack.

Millionaire Gerry Hoggard, the owner and operator of the Exension Factory and Sperway Homes, has told The Australian he is devastated by the arson attack on his replica French provincial mansion he was building in St Georges Road.

Mr Hoggard said he has built and renovated thousands of homes over 45 years in the building industry and said he is at a loss to explain why someone had targeted this partially built home in the tree-lined street dotted with mega-mansions.

Gerry Hoggard.

“I don’t know who would have done it,” he told The Australian.

“But I can tell you that by the extent of the fire, and knowing how it’s built, somebody has put accelerant all over the building.

“It’s built on a concrete slab, its got brick walls, it’s got non-combustible (material) between each floor. If it had been a random thing — an electrical short, or whatever — we would have got minor damage.

“I spoke to the fireys and the police ... and everybody was of the same opinion. The fire was like a raging inferno. There is some video, early on, and there was this massive, massive of fire coming out of the front of the property and timber just doesn’t burnt like that.”

Police are investigating the suspicious fire that exploded about 12.30am Friday at the unoccupied property which is valued around $15m. Fire fighters raced to the address and took several hours to bring the blaze under control.

A two-storey mansion in an prestigious suburb of Melbourne has gone up in flames in the early hours of Friday morning. Fire Rescue Victoria were called to the large property on the corner of St Georges Rd and Ultimo Ct in Toorak about 12.20am Friday. Picture: Supplied

Victoria Police have confirmed Stonnington crime investigation unit detectives and arson chemists are leading the investigation into the blaze in St Georges Road, near Ultimo Court.

Police said no one was inside the house, which is currently under renovation, at the time of the fire.

“Investigations are ongoing into exact cause of the fire, which is believed to be suspicious at this stage,” a police spokesperson said.

Fire Rescue Victoria said “there has also been significant structural collapse due to the intensity of the fire”.

Asked if anyone had been threatening him, Mr Hoggard said: “No, nup. I don’t know what it could be, but the arson squad is on to it. We’ve had no problems with the neighbours, they love the build, and no problems with the trades.”

Mr Hoggard, who lives a short distance away in another Toorak house, said a neighbour woke him shortly after the blaze erupted and he was raced to the burning St Georges Road property.

“It was unbelievable,” he said, recalling the moment he first saw the flames.

“When I turned the corner into St Georges, I couldn't believe it. I’ve never seen anything like it. It looked like someone had poured petrol over every floor and every room and ignited it. “That flame coming out of the front would have been three metres, by three metres, by three metres. The flames were shooting out of the front.”

Mr Hoggard said his builder had told him the damage was extensive that the half-built mansion would have to be knocked down, describing the trauma as one “hell of a shock”.

“I was hoping to salvage some of it but my building supervisor has described the steel as being bent ... so it sounds like its going to have to be a complete knockdown and start again.”

Mr Hoggard says the two storey mansion was going to be his “final build” and was inspired his French mother.

“I’ve been in the building industry for 45 years and I’ve built thousands of homes, renovations, extensions and I’ve never built a house for myself. I decided as the final build I was going to build a French provincial because my mum was French, and it was going to be a very detailed ... build. We were going to live there.”

The mansion went up in flames in the early hours of Friday morning. Picture: ABC

The home in the prestigious suburb of Toorak, in inner Melbourne, has collapsed after it was engulfed in flames in the early hours of Friday. Picture: NewsWire / Nadir Kinani

The property is located in one of the most affluent suburbs of Melbourne, with surrounding properties listed for prices between $5m and exceeding $20m.

The St Georges Rd property was sold in October 2021 for $7m and had been undergoing renovations at the time of the blaze.

Anyone with information or footage of the incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 00

The ruins of the home in Toorak. Picture: NewsWire / Nadir Kinani