Fire rips through empty house

AN UNOCCUPIED Pakenham house was gutted by fire on Monday night as fire crews battled the blaze for more than 20 minutes.
Officer in charge Lieutenant Daniel Ingram said on Tuesday that investigators were still combing the King Street scene for the cause of the fire but he believed the fire was started in the kitchen.
“We were called by neighbours and a passerby,” Mr Ingram said.
“It has apparently been unoccupied for a number of weeks.”
He said crews were called to the scene not long after midnight, and trucks from Pakenham, Toomuc Valley and Nar Nar Goon all attending the fire, as well as the Pakenham SES.