UPDATE: THE father of a teenager killed in a house fire held his son’s hand through a window before being forced back by flames.
Police are investigating the fire, which broke out at the home in Hume Ave, Melton South, just before 2am.
Neighbour Wayne Cooke said the boy was trapped in his bedroom and unable to escape the raging inferno.
“He said ‘My son’s in the house I can’t get him out. Someone has burnt the house’,” Mr Cooke said.
Mr Cooke said he desperately tried to help, but was helpless against the fast burning blaze.
“I ran round front and tried to yell out to his boy but the house was all up in flames,” he said.
Mr Cooke said the boy’s father fought bravely to save him.
“He said he grabbed his son’s hand but he couldn’t drag him out,” he said.
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“He had to let his hand go because the fire got too intense.”
The teenager lived at home with his 58-year-old dad and 13-year-old brother, who both survived.
Police have urged the youth’s friends and family to remain calm as tension boiled over outside the victim’s home.
Homicide squad Det Sen-Sgt Shane O’Connell said police were treating the fire as suspicious and would deal with those responsible if the fire was found to have been deliberately lit.
“Our message is … to remain calm and allow Victoria Police detectives to do their work and resolve this matter successfully,” he said.
Local detectives are investigating the circumstances surrounding the fire with the help of the Arson and Explosives Squad.
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