More than 50 firefighters were on scene at McGrath Road in Wyndham Vale, as a house fire threatened neighbouring properties.
Fifteen fire trucks from units in Wyndham Vale and neighbouring brigade battled the blaze on March 26.
Wyndham Vale fire brigade captain and Incident controller Trevor Weston said the fire was “extremely intense” due to excessive loads inside and outside the house.
“There was thick black smoke issuing from the property,” he said.
“One neighbouring property sustained a small amount of damage, but we were able to protect the other neighbouring properties.”
The occupant of the single-storey, brick veneer house was present at the time of the blaze, but escaped unharmed.
A local resident said the smell in the air was “acrid” and stank of oil.
“It was quite an inferno,” he said.
“I’ve lived in Wyndham since ‘88, never seen a fire to the magnitude of this.”
Emergency services deemed the incident under control just after 2.30pm but crews remained on scene extinguishing and removing burning material.
The cause of the fire is currently unknown and will require an investigation.
