The fire, which is being treated as suspicious, started just before 2am at a home on a cul-de-sac along Sherbrooke Street.

The blaze appeared to begin in the garage, before spreading quickly to the main house, neighbours say.

Firefighters rushed to the scene and battled to bring the flames under control. The fire was extinguished in about 30 minutes, and firefighters managed to stop it from spreading to neighbouring properties.

AFP forensic teams were sifting through the ruined home this morning.

Carla Ainsworth, who lives across the street, woke to a huge explosion and looked out her window to see the home’s garage engulfed by flames.

‘‘The explosion was huge, it was massive, I thought it was a drive-by shooting or a bomb actually,’’ she said.

‘‘I opened my curtain on the window... and I’ve alerted my son, and said ‘what’s going on, have a look at this’,’’ she said.

She said the flames spread from the garage to the house within seconds.

‘‘The house caught fire quickly, way too quickly,’’ she said.

No one was inside the property at the time.

Tom Wood, another neighbour, was also woken by an explosion in the garage. Mr Wood rushed outside once he realised there was a fire and called triple-0.

‘‘Once my eyes cleared enough that I could see it was the neighbour’s house and not our house on fire, it was better,’’ Mr Wood said.

The initial repair bill has been estimated at around $200,000.

Police will address the media about the fire at 2pm today.

They are urging anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via the website.