A man has been left homeless after fire ripped through his Ballarat East home in the early hours of Saturday.
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CFA crews were called in to battle the blaze on the corner of Eureka Street and Otway Street South about 3.40am.
Ballarat Fire Brigade Captain Mark Cartledge said firefighters arrived to find the front of the white weatherboard home well engulfed in flames.
“At least five fire trucks attended, containing the fire within 15 minutes,” he said.
“The male occupant of the house managed to get out and was not injured.”
He was treated by paramedics as a precaution and provided with emergency accommodation through Ballarat City Council.
But his home was gutted, with fire blackening the insides of many rooms.
Mr Cartledge said the house was extensively damaged.
Neighbours gathered behind fire trucks after sunlight broke, empathising with the victim.
“It’s a terrible thing to happen to anyone,” one woman said.
Mr Cartledge said an investigation into the cause of the blaze was ongoing.
“It is not being treated as suspicious at this stage.”
Otway Street South has been closed at the intersection’s southern side while firefighters use a cherry picker to inspect the building’s roof.