Plumes of smoke shot into the air just before 11.30am, with five residents inside, including a three-year-old child, fleeing the flames leaping from the Iris St home.

Numerous nearby residents raced to dial triple-zero but fire crews knew things didn’t look good as the smoke billowed into the air across the town.

And there was little they could do to save the family home.

“It was a very fierce fire,” Fire and Rescue Moree station officer Scott Beers said yesterday.

“On arrival we found the house fully involved and immediately set to work making sure the neighbouring houses were protected.”

There were emotional scenes as the residents watched the flames engulf their home after a three-year-old boy was saved by a neighbour who ran into the home to rescue him.

One of the residents received the news her house was alight after reading social media, before rushing to the scene.

The woman took to Facebook to say everyone was okay but they had lost some of their beloved animals before friends began rallying around.

“We had crews with breathing apparatuses protecting either side of the house,” station officer Beers said.

“It was a fairly spectacular fire and the smoke could be seen from all over town.

“The roof was in danger of collapsing, and also there was damage to the flooring in the house, so we had dangers from both above and below.”

Two RFS units backed up the Moree Fire and Rescue crews while emergency services evacuated surrounding areas due to fears of explosions.

“There was a number of small explosions in the property but they were mainly caused by spray pressure packs and things like cans of baked beans,” Station Officer Beers said.

“When we finally brought the fire under control, we had crews enter the building to mop up and douse small hot spots.

“We had one firefighter suffer a little bit of heat stress and was treated by ambulance officers on the scene and he was quickly back to work.”

Luckily, neighbouring homes escaped any damage, with the fire contained to the weatherboard home.

Fire investigators spent much of the afternoon sifting through the remains with forensic officers also combing the scene.

It’s believed the fire started in a bedroom and might have been sparked by an electrical fault but authorities say it is still too early to tell.