A Caulfield South man believes he is the victim of a vendetta and has described a fire at his home overnight as the "attempted murder" of his sleeping family.

Joel Distiller, 56, woke to find the front of his Sycamore Street home ablaze just before 1am on Wednesday. His wife, Cheryl, 52, and daughter Amy, 26, escaped wearing just the clothes they wore to bed.

Mr Distiller, wearing borrowed clothes including slippers from a neighbour, said he had lost everything in the home and would rebuild somewhere else fearing for his family's safety.

It is the second fire attack on the Distiller family, after a fire at the Elsternwick home of his business partner brother and an assault at the Sycamore Street home three months ago.