INVESTIGATORS suspect a fire that burnt through a garage and destroyed two cars at a Ringwood East home overnight may have been deliberately lit.

Maroondah Police crime investigation unit detective Senior Constable Matt Henry said the arson chemist and authorities were continuing to investigate the fire, which broke out just after 2am.

Fire crews from Ringwood, Nunawading, Croydon and Warrandyte South responded to the blaze at the house in Walhalla Drive after neighbours reported crackling and popping noises.

media_camera Police praised firefighters for containing the blaze to the house’s garage.

Det Sen-Constable Henry said firefighters found a car on the driveway alight before the fire engulfed the garage behind it, destroying a second vehicle and possessions inside.

Firefighters contained the fire to the garage and extinguished it within half an hour.

Det Sen-Constable Henry said the female owner was not at home at the time and authorities were treating the fire as suspicious.

media_camera The female owner of the house was not at home at the time of the blaze.

“She had gone out for dinner and was staying at her partner’s place, so she wasn’t here overnight,” he said.

“It’s just a bit fortunate no one was here at the time.”

Det Sen-Constable Henry praised firefighters for containing the blaze to the garage, saying the remainder of the house was “relatively unscathed”.

“There is minimal damage to the rooms adjacent to the garage because the fire went up into the roof frame, but they have done a fantastic job in saving the rest of the house,” he said.

Originally published as Cops probe suspected arson attack