A MAN has been left homeless after firefighters and a passing motorist battled unsuccessfully to save his Wodonga unit.
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The two-bedroom brick flat in Holt Place was gutted after flames spread into the roof cavity.
The tenant was not home at the time the fire erupted in his home about 5.40pm on Thursday.
Traffic controller Jake Shields, 32, who lives in a nearby street, was driving home when he spotted dark flames.
"I came around and saw an old lady out the front of her house and I went around the back and grabbed the garden hose," Mr Shields said.
He screamed through a cracked window, not knowing the house was unoccupied.
"The flames were pretty intense, they were billowing two or three metres out of the roof," Mr Shield said.
Neighbour Marianne Wachtmann, who needs a walking frame to move, screamed from her back door as she watched the orange glow grow.
"I didn't know what I was doing, I was so confused because when you're 90 and by yourself….it was terrible,” Mrs Wachtmann said.
The intensity of the flames resulted in part of the tile roof caving in.
The fire appeared to start in the main bedroom, with a double mattress reduced to springs.
Wodonga fire station officer David Brown investigated the fire, saying it's cause was not suspicious.
He was unable to nominate the precise trigger for the fire.
It is the third significant structure in this week with a weatherboard home in Lawrence Street, Wodonga, incinerated on Tuesday night and an Ebden shed ablaze on Wednesday morning.
A woman, 40, was charged with arson over the fire at the Lawrence Street house which coincidentally was home to Mr Shields’ uncle.
Mr Brown said the fires reinforced the need to be wary at this time of year with heating devices.
"When people think of the fire brigade they think of the long hot summers, but statistically we have more callouts in winter and this week has reflected that,” Mr Brown said.
"It's a reminder to make sure appliances are in good working order and things get tested, flues get cleared, gas heaters and electric blankets are checked."
![Fire helper: Jake Shields in front of the gutted unit in Wodonga that he tried to help save on Thursday night. Picture: ELENOR TEDENBORG Fire helper: Jake Shields in front of the gutted unit in Wodonga that he tried to help save on Thursday night. Picture: ELENOR TEDENBORG](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/XJLgPnEdnKaFugZzKyL6Sw/16e06548-b815-43ea-985e-26295146b51b.jpg/r0_144_4993_3073_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)