Elderly man burned in Melbourne house fire

An elderly man has burns to his face after fire ripped through his Melbourne home.

Five trucks and 30 firefighters were called in to battle the blaze at a house in Hampton East on Saturday night with an aerial unit also attacking the flames from above.

A Metropolitan Fire Brigade spokesman said the house went up quickly due to a "high fire load" inside.

The elderly man, aged in his 80s, managed to escape the residence and was taken to hospital in a stable condition with burns to his face.

The fire was brought under control in 44 minutes, with an investigation underway into its cause.