Woman leaps from balcony to escape house fire in Bentleigh East, Melbourne

News.com.au

14-05-2025

A woman has been forced to jump off a balcony to escape a blaze that tore through a Melbourne home overnight.
The two-storey house in Bentleigh East erupted in flames just after 11pm on Wednesday, trapping three occupants — including the woman in her 40s, who was stuck on the balcony.
She leapt from the burning building to escape the flames, which had spread from the ground floor up to the second floor.
'It was really terrible. Terrible. And like frustrating and yeah, terrifying,' one neighbour told 9News.
'The people were screaming so like loud. And we just started to panic.'
Five people were evacuated from the blazing house by Fire Rescue Victoria.
The woman from the balcony and a girl in her teens were treated on the scene by paramedics and transported to the Alfred Hospital in stable conditions.
However, an adjoining residence was destroyed in the blaze after firefighters faced poor water supply and were unable to prevent the spread of fire.
The cause of the fire is unknown and will be investigated by Fire Rescue Victoria later in the morning.