CFA crews were called to a recreation centre fire within the Blue Hills retirement village in Cranbourne East, Wednesday afternoon.
Crews were called to the incident on Clarkson Boulevard shortly after 1.05pm.
District 08 Operations Officer Paul Summons said firefighters arrived on scene to a rapidly developing fire within the roof space.
“One occupant inside the property was alerted to the fire in the roof by a passer-by and was able to self-evacuate,” Operations Officer Summons said.
“It was an exceptional response from our crews, with Cranbourne Pumper arriving on scene within two minutes.
“Cranbourne’s crew led by Station Officer Chris Morrow, were able to conduct a primary search of the building confirming all occupants had self-evacuated while rescuing Michael Angelo the turtle from the structure.
“Due to imminent structure collapse crews conducted an external fire fight.
“Crews managed to contain the fire to the recreation centre which is a total loss, but were able to protect nearby exposures which included a Chapel.”
Victoria Police, Ambulance Victoria and around 35 firefighters from Cranbourne, Narre Warren, Berwick, Clyde, Bayswater and Dandenong Fire Brigades were in attendance.
Dandenong Ladder Platform responded to provide aerial firefighting capabilities, allowing bulk amounts of water to be used to bring the fire under control.
Bayswater Fire Brigade provided breathing apparatus replenishment and Firefighter welfare facilities.
Hallam Hazmat was also in attendance providing atmospheric monitoring on the fire ground and of the surrounding community.
Fire Investigators will return to the scene today to conduct further investigation into the cause of the fire.