A MOUNT Austin home has been severely damaged by fire overnight, which left one firefighter battling the blaze injured.
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Emergency services were called to the house fire on Gowrie Parade shortly after 8pm on Monday night.
Fire and Rescue's Turvey Park station commander Jeff Edwards said the house was only a short distance from the fire station, but as soon as crews left the station they could see smoke already building up in the sky.
Mr Edwards said that extra firefighting appliances were called immediately to assist with the blaze, as well as police, paramedics and gas and electricity crews to switch off power to the home.
"As soon as we turned the corner we could already see the flames burning through the roof," he said.
"The first thing we did was access the neighbours who were gathered at the front to make sure nobody was at home. Obviously we don't take their word as gospel ... our priority was a search and rescue."
Mr Edwards said it was difficult to gain access to the locked premises, owned by the Department of Housing, but firefighters were able to enter and conduct a search to ensure no one was home.
However, a firefighter was injured while working to contain the blaze, which took two hours to extinguish.
"He suffered from heat exhaustion and low blood sugar and was attended to by paramedics," Mr Edwards said.
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While the house has not been totally destroyed, Mr Edwards said that there is major smoke, heat and water damage to about 50 per cent of the property.
"At this stage it is not suspicious, just one of those things that happen," he said.
Mr Edwards said this incident reiterates the advantage of having smoke detectors in all properties to give people the best chance to evacuate quickly.