A wheelchair-bound woman called firefighters as fire swept through her Victorian home, but smoke claimed her life and that of her three-year-old grandson, it is believed.
Today the dead woman's husband, volunteer country firefighter Rod Cookson, spoke of his devastation over their loss.
Mr Cookson's partner of 14 years, Kerren Cookson, 52, and her grandson, Malik Kioko, died last night when fire engulfed their home in Pyalong, 80km north of Melbourne.
Police say the fire was not suspicious and it is believed Mrs Cookson rang firefighters before succumbing to smoke inhalation.
Mr Cookson told reporters today he and Kerren had played the role of parents to Malik while his mother was away.
"I have lost two people who I very much loved and I am dumbfounded to lose them in such circumstances," Mr Cookson said through tears today.
"Kerren is a woman who suffered a lot of trauma through her life but she took care of her grandson to the best of her ability.
"He was a very little boy that loved her so much, to him she was his mother.
"He was a rascal, he was my little shadow, both of them have gone."
Mrs Cookson was mostly home-bound because of rheumatoid arthritis and had led a difficult life, Mr Cookson, 54, said.
He said Kerren and he had been caring for Malik on and off all his life while his mother, Mrs Cookson's teenage daughter Jamie-Lee Ney, lived in Sydney.
Ms Ney and the child's African-born father are separated.
The father is believed to have already attended the scene and Ms Ney was expected there late today.
"He (Malik) was a cherub and this was his home, he loved playing outside," Mr Cookson said.
"If I was using a spanner, he was using a spanner, he wanted to be with you all the time.
"He was the joy of Kerren's life, at least the two of them are together.
"She loved her garden, flowers and antiques, she was a beautiful person who loved everybody but had such a hard life."
Mr Cookson tearfully embraced parish priest Father Martin Johnson when he visited the house this morning.
"Kerren had limited mobility but I used to enjoy visiting her and we had lots of frank discussions about life and everything," Father Johnson told reporters.
"Rod spoke lovingly at the church of the `young fellow', as he called him, and I would often see Malik chasing Rod around.
"Inevitably a community of this size will rally around and there's absolutely no doubt about that ... the community will make sure Rod receives the care and support he needs."
The fire started in the loungeroom in the vicinity of a wood heater, said Detective Acting Sergeant Mick Layton, of the Seymour Criminal Investigation Unit.
Country Fire Authority crews arrived to find the weatherboard house engulfed in flames and the bodies of the victims in the kitchen, CFA operations officer John Smith told reporters.
The house was badly damaged by smoke and heat but only the loungeroom suffered fire damage, he said.
