It was a hard lesson to learn for Archie the 10-month-old puppy, after he set his owner's Melbourne home ablaze last week.

The French Bulldog Boston Terrier cross can be seen on home security camera jumping on a couch and chewing on a lighter before it erupts in flames on October 16.

His owner Dee said she left Archie alone in her Ringwood unit about 9am and four minutes later, when she checked in on her playful pup via CCTV, saw the incident unfold.

"I think he grabbed it off the TV unit or something and it must've sparked and the couch caught fire," she told 3AW on Friday.

She called fire crews, who were already alerted to the blaze.

Neighbours were evacuated and firefighters brought the fire under control in four minutes.

The damage bill is expected to tally thousands of dollars.

"The insurance company told me all my contents are gone and the whole thing probably needs to be replastered and new floors and new cupboards, new aircon," Dee said.

Luckily for Archie, he is not in the doghouse.

Dee still thinks he is "cute" and even changed his name to "Archie the arsonist" on his Instagram page.

"I'm just glad he's okay. He could've been so much worse," she said.

"He was really sooty, but I'm so glad he's okay."

Investigators confirmed the fire was ignited by the dog playing with an unattended lighter.

MFB Commander Graeme O'Sullivan warned any item that can start a fire should be kept out of reach of not only children, but pets too.

"Having these items in a place where they can find their way into little hands or paws is dangerous - they should be kept in a safe place like a high cupboard," he said.

Australian Associated Press