Elderly residents at a retirement home village in Melbourne's south-eastern suburbs have had a lucky escape after a large fire destroyed part of the facility.
Authorities were called to the Blue Hills Rise home in Cranbourne East shortly after 1:00pm, where the fire is believed to have started in the roof of the recreation centre.
Residents were told to stay indoors and keep their windows closed.
The recreation centre housed a swimming pool and an after-school care facility, but only one person was inside when the fire broke out and was able to escape unscathed.
The fire began only several hours before dozens of school children were due at the centre for their swimming lessons.
The CFA said the alarm was raised at the home on the Berwick Cranbourne Road and crews from eight trucks tackled the fire.
Berwick Cranbourne Road was closed to traffic.
CFA operations officer Paul Summons said investigations into the cause have started.
"It's still a little bit too hot and dangerous for them to go in so they will most likely come back tomorrow but we will be investigating the roof area," Mr Summons said.
"It's unlikely that it's started in the building itself. It looks quite likely that the fire has begun somewhere in the roof space.
"It's quite difficult to access because the roof has come down, so we will be here for quite some time putting out hot spots."
