Four people and a dog forced to jump from balcony to escape home fire in Forster Court in Bentleigh East

A man who was trapped inside a burning home has told of the terrifying moment he was forced to jump for his life from a second-story balcony with three others and a dog.

A man who was trapped inside a burning home has told of the terrifying moment he was forced to jump for his life from a second-story balcony with three others and a dog.

Fire Rescue Victoria arrived at a two-storey East Bentleigh home just after 11pm on Wednesday to find flames rapidly spreading from the ground floor up.

“Everyone was asleep, and then the fire alarm went off and there was smoke everywhere,” Ryan, the boyfriend of one of the residents, told the media on Thursday morning.

“There was so much fire downstairs so you couldn’t get down.”

Along with the dog, a Maltese named Louis, the group of four escaped to the balcony where they attempted to jump off.

One teenage girl slipped and fell onto the ground trying to climb onto the garage roof.

She sustained two ankle injuries and was taken to the Alfred Hospital where she underwent surgery on Thursday morning.

The others, one with Louis in their arms, climbed onto the garage roof and jumped towards a tree before sliding down to the ground to safety.

“The number one goal (was) to keep the dog alive … and we did,” Ryan said.

A fifth resident, the teenage girl’s father, attempted to escape through the front door but turned around when the flames got too intense.

A woman has jumped from the balcony of her home to escape the blaze. Picture: Supplied

Firefighters arrived at the home about midnight on Wednesday. Picture: Supplied

He was helped over the back fence by a neighbour, before running around to the front of the house.

“That was the scariest part because we didn’t know where he was,” Ryan said.

Another neighbour, Karina Shiferson, said the teenage girl’s mother emerged from the house covered in smoke “black from top to bottom”.

She was also taken to the Alfred where she remained on Thursday in a stable condition.

Ms Shiferson, who lived two doors down, woke when her daughter heard screams for help from her bedroom window just past 11pm on Wednesday.

They called paramedics despite being “distressed and not knowing what to do”.

They arrived on the scene quickly, she said.

It took 30 firefighters about an hour to bring the blaze under control after initially struggling to find a water supply outlet.

Witnesses say firefighters had to pump water from an intersecting street – a process which took nearly 10 minutes to set up.

“People could have died in that time,” one witness said.

Photos taken from over the back fence show the townhouse completely gutted, with smashed windows and wood panelling scattered across the ground.

Fire crews managed to save the adjoining home, which was left with only minimal damage.

A toxic smoke warning was also issued to nearby residents.

It is believed the house was being sublet by the family, with the new owners having only settled three weeks ago.

Investigations into the cause of the fire remain ongoing.

Originally published as Four people and a dog forced to jump from balcony to escape home fire in Forster Court in Bentleigh East