Australia: Residents evacuated as fire rips through warehouse in Melbourne

Sydney, Nov 16 (IANS) About 150 residents were evacuated from their homes as an early-morning fire ripped through a warehouse in west Melbourne on Saturday.

Emergency services were called to a fire at Spencer Street in west Melbourne in the Australian state of Victoria just before 2 a.m. and found a warehouse fully engulfed in flames, reports Xinhua news agency.

It took 60 firefighters more than two hours to control the blaze, which involved using specialist firefighting equipment, including aerial platforms, and Spencer Street was blocked off to traffic in both directions, Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) said.

Approximately 150 people were evacuated from an adjacent high-rise building and were allowed to visit their apartments under police escort while alternative accommodation was arranged, according to the FRV.

Victoria Police said there were no reported injuries.

The FRV said the fire was deemed suspicious, and police had established a crime scene.

--IANS

int/sd/