Hoarder rescued from South Melbourne apartment fire
The fire took hold on a third floor apartment building. (9NEWS)
Fire crews have saved the life of a woman hoarding in an apartment building in South Melbourne.
Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) members rushed to the third floor of an apartment on Dorcas Street around 10.45pm yesterday, and struggled to access the blaze due to the excess of materials hoarded by the woman.
The 40-year-old woman was trapped inside and eventually freed by fire crews.
It took 30 minutes before the 25 firefighters at the scene managed to bring the blaze under control.
Commander Dan Gatt said the unit was “not habitable” and police had been informed to ensure it is handed back over to the owners.
MFB crews said they are called to incidents involving hoarding every six days, causing a major risk to both occupants, firefighters and neighbours.
They were called to more than 160 incidents involving hoarding and squalor across metropolitan Melbourne between 2012 and 2015.
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