A Victoria Police arson chemist attended the scene of a house fire in Glenormiston late on Friday.

Mortlake police Acting Sergeant Paul McLean said it was determined that the occupant of the house on the Castle Carey Road had cooked a steak and left the pan on the electric stove top, which was left turned on.

"After eating dinner he fell asleep on the couch, woke up at about 9pm and went to bed," he said.

"Sometime later the pan overheated on the stove top and caught fire."

Acting Sergeant McLean said the door between the bedrooms and the kitchen was only slightly ajar.

"That meant it took a long time for the smoke to filter down the passage to the smoke detector and for the audible alarm to be activated," he said.

"This allowed the fire to burn for a long time time before the detector went off and the fire had caused significant damage before the occupant was woken."

The Mortlake police officer said smoke detectors saved lives.

"As a safety measure leaving doors open that lead to a smoke detector will ensure the alarm activates soon after a fire starts," he said.

"The cause of the fire has been deemed non-suspicious by police.

"This is a great fire safety message and a timely reminder to ensure your smoke alarm is in working order and to evaluate your own fire safety plans."

Friday, 12.30pm: A smoke alarm is being credited with waking a sleeping man while the house where he was staying burnt.

Mortlake police Senior Constable Paul McLean said the single male occupant of the home was woken by a smoke alarm at 4.45am Friday.

He said the man got out of bed, opened a door to the kitchen and lounge area to find that section of the house was fully engulfed by flames.

The police officer said that unfortunately the man's telephone was in that section of the house and he had to jump in his car and go to a neighbour's home to raise the alarm.

Senior Constable McLean said there was little the man could do because of the intensity of the fire.

"It took Country Fire Authority units just 12 minutes to respond which is pretty amazing considering the remoteness of the location," he said.

"It just shows the value of smoke alarms, they wake people up in times of emergency.

"The home was lost but fortunately no one was injured," he said.

At 9.45am: Police believe the cause of the house fire at Glenormiston is not suspicious.

A man was at the home, he woke up after the fire started and went to a neighbouring property to raise the alarm just before 5am.

A CFA fire investigator and Victoria Police arson chemist are expected to examine the scene and determine cause of the fire today.

Earlier: A brick home on Castle Carey Road at Glenormiston has been destroyed by a fire early this morning.

Currently there are eight brigades in attendance, including the Warrnambool brigade aerial pumper.

Warrnambool brigade station officer Brett Gladki said the alarm was raised by a man who went to a neighbouring property at 4.50am.

"The single storey brick house was fully involved in fire when crews arrived," he said.

"It took an hour to bring under control. The fire had been going for some time when firefighters arrived."

He said in addition to the Warrnambool pumper, brigades from Noorat, Terang, Camperdown, Mortlake, Bookaar and Wooriwyrite had attended the blaze just north of Eddington Road.

Officer Gladki said that a lack of water had posed some problems and tankers worked in relays to bring water to the property.

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A police guard has also been placed at the scene.

It is not believed that anyone was injured in the fire.

A Country Fire Authority fire investigator and Warrnambool detectives are expected to examine the remains of the house today to try and determine a cause of the fire.

More to come.

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