Neighbours worried about woman arrested after house fire

Neighbours say they had been worried about the woman arrested after a house fire in Melbourne's south-east for weeks.

The fire started at a residence in Deanswood Drive in Somerville just after 9.30am.

Emergency services contained the blaze in the living room.

A 33-year-old woman and an eleven-year-old boy were present at the time but were uninjured.

The woman was arrested at the scene and taken to hospital for a mental health check.

A second boy who lives at the property was at school at the time of the fire.

"It'd be between two and three weeks ago that I called the police because I was worried about her, because three of her friends turned up and said she wasn't answering," neighbour Frances Howe told 9NEWS.

"I do hope there's nothing sinister, I really do, I feel sorry for the poor girl."