It was one of three fires CFA firefighters attended in the Goulburn Valley over Christmas.
The CFA was called to a house fire in Kaarimba Rd, Wunghnu, at 6.10pm on Wednesday, December 25.
CFA District 22 duty officer Pete Dedman said when firefighters arrived about 15 minutes later they found the weatherboard house well alight.
The fire had also set alight nearby grass on the property and had spread to a shipping container full of household items.
Mr Dedman said the fire was quickly contained to the site, but with the complexities of the blaze, including the house, shipping container and grass, the fire was not declared under control until 8.30pm.
Twelve or 13 brigades attended, with many being diverted from an earlier grass fire at Kaarimba.
Ten fire-fighting appliances were used, including fire tankers, as well as big-fill trucks, which were used to ferry water from the creek to the fire trucks so they could continue fighting the blaze.
One fire crew stayed at the scene overnight, before an excavator was brought in the next morning to take the iron roof off the house to allow firefighters to hose down inside.
Mr Dedman said the house was not safe for firefighters to fight the blaze from inside it, so the firefight was done externally.
He said no-one was at home at the time of the fire, but the house was destroyed.
One firefighter was also treated by ambulance officers for a minor burn to his hand.
A fire investigator has examined the scene and ruled that the fire was not suspicious, Mr Dedman said.
He praised those firefighters who turned out, saying many had given up their Christmas night meal with their families to fight the blaze.
A GoFundMe page has been set up for the family of four that lived in the house, as it was left with only the clothes it was wearing that day.
Anyone wanting to donate can do so at tinyurl.com/mvu9xut9
Mr Dedman said earlier on Christmas Day, firefighters were called to a grass fire in Sandilands Rd at Kaarimba about 5.15pm.
The fire burnt about two hectares of grass, as well as some trees and fences.
Mr Dedman said firefighters had the blaze under control by 5.40pm and it was completely extinguished and the area mopped up by 7.25pm.
Mr Dedman said firefighters were called to another fire at Thorndyke Dve, Miepoll, on December 27.
Firefighters were called to the fire after smoke was spotted by a fire spotter at Mt Wombat in the Strathbogie Ranges.
Mr Dedman said the fire burnt about two hectares of grass between two houses, but there was no damage to either house.
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