Woman killed in house fire in St Albans, Melbourne

A woman died early Friday morning after her house went up in flames.

Jessica Pereira, 32, was at her home on Conrad Street in St Albans, in Melbourne’s northwest, when the fire broke out at 6am on Friday.

Firefighters arrived within minutes to find flames and smoke coming from the roof, also endangering neighboring properties.

Thirty firefighters battled the blaze for about 20 minutes before it was extinguished and they were able to pull Ms Pereira’s body from the house.

Paramedics tried to revive the 32-year-old, but she could not be saved.

A crime scene has since been established and detectives from the Arson and Explosives Squad and an arson chemist inspected the property on Friday.

The house caught fire at 6 a.m. Friday and firefighters rushed to extinguish the flames

A neighbor said he could feel the heat from his home when he saw “flames coming from Ms. Pereira’s roof.”

“It was that bad, I could feel the heat,” he said Nine news.

Fire Rescue Victoria Incident Controller Nicholas Allen said his crew saw “flames sticking out of the front and sides of the building.”

“They worked effectively and quickly to contain the fire to the original property,” he told reporters.

Mr Allen said several factors made extinguishing the house difficult, including falling debris, excessive smoke and asbestos in the property.

Due to these risks, their response was ‘escalated’ and firefighters were fitted with special breathing apparatus before continuing their work.

The investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.

Following the tragedy, Ms Pereira’s devastated family were seen comforting each other outside her home.