Warning on laptop fire danger after blaze

Firefighters are reminding people not to leave their laptops continuously plugged into chargers after an overheated battery sparked a blaze that destroyed a family home in Melbourne.

The lithium battery inside the laptop overheated and sparked a fire inside a Doncaster home on Sunday.

More than 20 firefighters tried to contain the blaze before it destroyed the single storey brick house.

The occupants - a young couple, their 10-month-old baby and the couple's elderly parents - were not home at the time.

Fire investigators found the laptop had been left on continuous charge while it was plugged into a television for use as an external hard drive.

The MFB say the blaze is a reminder to remove laptops, tablets and other devices from power sources once they are fully charged, or if no one is there to supervise.

Last year, MFB and the CFA had to deal with 28 fires caused by portable electrical appliances such as battery chargers, laptops, and over-loaded power boards.