A young couple expecting their first child has lost everything after their New Norfolk home was destroyed in a deliberately lit fire on Thursday night.
Emergency services were called to the Back River Road property just before 10pm, arriving to find the house fully engulfed in flames.
The couple managed to evacuate safely, police said, adding no injuries were reported.
Tasmania Fire Service crews were able to bring the blaze under control and later confirmed the fire had been deliberately lit.
According to a fundraiser set up by grandmother Joanne Phillips, the couple had only purchased the home two months ago.
“In four weeks time they will be welcoming their first born child,” Phillips said. “Everything was lost including all baby items.”
The family is also searching for their much-loved cat, Skittles, who escaped during the fire.
“She’s very timid so won’t come to anyone and knows a cat trap well,” the family noted in a social media post.
“She’s an indoor cat so would be very scared.”
A fundraiser has already raised more than $2,500 to help the couple with immediate expenses as they begin to rebuild their lives just weeks out from before becoming parents.
Police have launched an investigation into the incident, with the Bridgewater Criminal Investigation Branch appealing for any information about suspicious activity in the area around the time of the fire.
