MELBOURNE - A man battled in vain to save his wife and four young children from a fire described as a "red wall of flame" that engulfed their home, his mother says.
Aaron Holloway, 31, survived the blaze by escaping through the front door of the home at Clifton Springs, near Geelong.
The truck mechanic underwent surgery in Geelong Hospital after suffering burns, abrasions and smoke inhalation, and is in a stable condition.
His wife Ash, 24, sons Brodie, 2, Thomas, 18 months, and 3-month-old twins Mackenzie and Cooper, all perished in the inferno.
Firefighters who arrived at the Jetty Road weatherboard home about 2.30am local time on Sunday found the property engulfed in a fire that was fanned by a fierce wind.
Holloway's mother, Debbie Holt, said her son was shattered.
"He couldn't save them.
"He tried, but he couldn't.
"The flames were too intense," Holt told the Herald Sun.
"It's all surreal. He doesn't understand that they're gone. He's not comprehending it all.
"He's lost everything. He has nothing left. This is so horrible.
"He's lost his four little children, all under two and a half, and his beautiful wife.
"I don't know what to say. It's our worst nightmare."
Holt said Ash was an "amazing mother, full of love for her children".
The fire quickly spread to a neighbouring house, forcing its occupants to flee, while an ember set the roof of a third property alight.
Experts in identifying disaster victims have been called in and the arson squad is investigating.
"At this early stage we don't have a cause of the fire but that is still being determined by our investigators," Detective Sergeant John Dimos of the arson squad said at the scene.
Police have interviewed Holloway.
The Victorian coroner is also investigating.
- AAP
Distraught dad saw red wall of flame
The Holloway house in which four children died along with their mother. Photo / Supplied
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