SYDNEY, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Three people, including two children, have been hospitalized after sustaining serious injuries in a suspicious house fire in southeast Melbourne.
Police said in a statement on Thursday that emergency services were called to reports of a fire at an address in Chadstone, about 15 kilometers southeast of central Melbourne, about 9:40 p.m. local time on Wednesday.
A woman and two children were evacuated from the residence and treated by ambulance paramedics for serious injuries before being taken to hospital, all in critical conditions.
Fire and rescue authorities in the state of Victoria said that the fire started in the top level of the two-storey house and caused a partial structural collapse.
Victoria Police said that the fire is being treated as suspicious and that the scene will be analyzed by an arson chemist.
Fire Rescue Victoria Commander Paul Eckholdt told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio that about 30 firefighters arrived at the scene and were informed by neighbors that there were residents inside.
The woman and two children were found in an upstairs bedroom.
"They were unconscious, so they were carried out and taken out to the front where Ambulance Victoria paramedics and firefighters were waiting," Eckholdt said.
"They did have some burns, and they also had some airway burns as well."
Anyone who witnessed the incident or with footage of the fire or information has been urged to contact police. Enditem
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