Sitting watching TV in the lounge room with her three children, Sam Sladdin would never have thought she would become homeless in a matter of minutes.

Talking to her children about what to have for dinner - when Seth Blake, of Stawell, bashed down her front door.

"He was yelling 'your house is on fire'," she said.

"He was around the corner and because his Nan lives in the area he thought he better come and have a look.

"He didn't think anyone was home. He ran around the back to find a hose and couldn't find one and then came in through the front door to make sure we weren't home.

"I couldn't smell smoke or anything.

"I bolted around the back and could see the caravan and the back verandah roof on fire."

Ms Sladdin said she grabbed her youngest child, Carter, 3, and threw him outside to "whoever was standing there".

"I've since found out it was Meg and Daisy Walker and I'm so thankful to them for taking care of him and away from the house," she said.

"I didn't know what to grab in the house. I ran into my bedroom where I have all the Christmas presents.

"I flung open the door and flames were coming up along the back wall so I just threw some presents out and ran into my daughter's room.

"I just looked - where do you even start. Seth was yelling at me to get out. Her wall was on fire there by then, it was getting to dangerous."

The home has been burnt from the back - with the three front rooms of the building receiving minimal damage to walls but damage to the roof and water and smoke damage.

"All the back rooms are completely destroyed," Ms Sladdin said.

"The insurance company are doing their thing and we're in a motel at the moment.

"There isn't enough room for all of us so some of the kids are staying with my parents and my daughter is staying at a friend's house.

"I'm just trying to find and secure a place we can stay until we can get into a rental property."

Ms Sladdin said it was times, such as this one, that she was appreciative of living in a small town.

"So many people have been so generous," she said.

"People I don't even know or haven't even met.

"It makes me proud to live in this town with so many thoughtful people."

Ms Sladdin said she could never repay the kindness shown.

"From Seth rocking up and getting us out of the house, to the girls taking care of Carter and now just the overwhelming amount of support," she said.

"Strangers have offered help and have been dropping off clothes and toys to my mum's house."

Ms Sladdin said the fire started from an electrical fault in the caravan out the back of the property.

"One too many cords was plugged into a power board," she said.

"It just overheated. Luckily, my son wasn't in the caravan - he normally is but it was too hot. He would be dead. No sooner had Seth run in the whole back of the property was alight."

Ms Sladdin said the reality of the house destroyed was starting to sink in.

"This was mine and the kids home after we fled a domestic violence situation," she said. "We were so proud when we brought this home, something to call our own."

While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox from the Stawell Times-News. To make sure you're up-to-date with all the news from across the region, sign up here.

If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Stawell Times-News, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Stawell's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great town.