POLICE dogs and a chopper scoured the Pyramid Hill district overnight Saturday after fire destroyed a weatherboard home.
Local residents joined the search for the man, believed to have livedin the home, in the hours after fire brigade crews were called to the Railway Avenue blaze.
Several hundred people who had been at the town’s Christmas street party watched on as volunteers from Pyramid Hill and Cohuna brigades tackled the inferno.
Police from Loddon stations at Pyramid Hill, Wedderburn, Inglewood and Serpentine were joined by Kerang-based officers in the search for the man.
Trains on the Bendigo-Swan Hill line were also stopped as police scoured the district.
Police said the man was found Sunday morning at Sylvaterre, about 16km from town.
Reports said the man had suffered burns to his face, hands and back.
The man, believed to have been a resident of Pyramid Hill for the last three years, was taken to Bendigo Health for treatment.
The fire was being treated as suspicious, police said.
Pyramid Hill Fire Brigade captain Steve Mann said crews responded quickly to the fire call soon after 8pm.
“We had a many of our members at the Christmas party on the other side of the railway line,” Mr Mann said.
“The weatherboard home was fully engulfed when we arrived but crews were able to stop flames from spreading to adjoining properties.”
Powercor crews and an ambulance also attended the fire scene.
Mr Mann said firefighters had the fire extinguished within three hours.
Police investigations are continuing.
Meanwhile, three early morning fires near Logan on Monday’s total fire ban day are also being probed. The first call was made about 5.30am for a fire on the Logan-Bealiba Road, off the Wimmera Highway near Logan. Brigade volunteers received a second call soon after to a fire that burnt 0.10 hectares further along the road. A third fire on Logan-Bealiba Road, Cochranes Creek reported three hours later.
Anyone with information can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.