Woman killed in house fire in St Albans, Melbourne

A woman has died after her home was engulfed in flames Friday morning.

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

Firefighters arrived minutes later to find flames and smoke coming from the roof, with neighboring properties also at risk.

Thirty firefighters battled the blaze for around 20 minutes before putting it out and being able to extract Ms Pereira’s body from the house.

Paramedics attempted to resuscitate the 32-year-old woman, but she could not be saved.

A crime scene has since been set up and detectives from the Arson and Explosives Squad and an arson chemist were seen inspecting the property on Friday.

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

“That’s how bad it was, I could feel the heat,” he said. Nine news.

Victoria Fire Brigade incident controller Nicholas Allen said his crews saw “flames protruding from the front and sides of the building”.

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

Mr Allen said several factors made it difficult to put out the house, including falling debris, excessive smoke and asbestos inside the property.

Due to these risks, their response was “enhanced” and firefighters were equipped with special respiratory equipment before continuing their work.

Investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing.

Ms Pereira’s devastated family were seen consoling each other outside their home after the tragedy.