A CFA volunteer who lost everything in a 2006 bushfire, watched his new Snake Valley home go up in flames on Wednesday.
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Terry Taplin and his father escaped the Roddis Lane property about 11.40am.
“Basically we got out of the house and waited for the fire brigade to get up here,” he said.
"(The fire) got up into the roof, you could hear the roof burning ... there was no point being inside, there was too much smoke.”
CFA crews battled the blaze, believed to have started in the kitchen, for about two hours.
Unfortunately, the single-storey weatherboard property could not be saved.
Snake Valley CFA Captain Ron Lockyer said the roof was fully alight when he arrived.
“The house is completely destroyed,” he said.
"We believe it started from hot oil in a saucepan on the stove.”
Seven trucks from Linton, Smythesdale, Snake Valley and Skipton attended the house fire on Wednesday.
Wednesday's Snake Valley blaze was the fourth house fire in the Ballarat region in recent weeks.
My Lockyer encouraged residents to buy fire blankets and extinguishers for their kitchens.
Mr Taplin built another house on his property after losing his home in the devastating 2006 bushfires.
The Snake Valley CFA volunteer was helping his neighbours extinguish a fire at their property about one kilometre away, when fire broke out at his home.
Nothing could be salvaged from the property in 2006.
Before the bushfire, Mr Taplin was in a car accident in 2004 that left him with major cognitive difficulties. After the accident he found it hard to make decisions or retain accurate memories.
Mr Taplin thanked the fire fighters for their efforts on Wednesday.
“It’s a small town and I know most of them,” he said.
“They are all great guys and are doing a great job. I have seen some people do some things today that they didn’t have to do.”
Fire fighters believe the fire started in the kitchen of the weatherboard home
Acting Operations Manager Bernie Fradd said the occupant of the home was not inside when crews arrived.
“The single storey weatherboard house is located in a reasonably remote area of Snake Valley,” he said.
“The cause appears to have started in the kitchen, from cooking.”
Bernie said the house had been relocated to Roddis Lane from an area previously burnt out in a bush fire.
Seven trucks from Linton, Smythesdale, Snake Valley and Skipton attended.
