Elderly woman escapes Melbourne house fire

Neighbours who rushed to the aid of an elderly neighbour after a house fire in Melbourne were relieved to discover she'd escaped.

They broke into the Endeavour Hills property to rescue the woman after noticing her house was on fire, the CFA says.

But the woman had already escaped the burning home thanks to her smoke alarm going off.

Nobody was injured in the blaze, which is not believed to be suspicious.