Emergency crews responded to several calls of a two-storey building fire at a Forty Winks store in Nunawading in Melbourne's east about 2.20am on Sunday.
They arrived to find massive plumes of smoke and flames out the front of the store, Fire Rescue Victoria Assistant Chief Fire Officer Jamie Hansen said.
"(Firefighters) made an internal attack to try to quell that fire as much as they could, however, the fuel load was just too much to make any more progress," he told reporters on Sunday.
The fire quickly escalated to the back of the building before moving across to a second building, forcing crews to retreat to fight the fire externally due to concerns about the building collapsing.
Structure Fire - Advice for Whitehorse Rd, Nunawading. You should Stay Informed. For more info: — Fire Rescue Victoria (@FireRescueVic) https://t.co/UapDOjSCY7 #vicfiresJanuary 5, 2025
About 30 people in nearby residences were evacuated due to smoke. No one was injured.
More than 95 firefighters and 26 trucks were deployed to fight the flames, with the incident brought under control about four hours later.
"Victoria Police will be investigating the cause of the fire with the arson squad, and they have deemed it to be suspicious," Mr Hansen said.
Firefighters were able to save adjoining retailers from the fire, with a paint store containing flammable solvents of particular concern.
"To the left-hand side of the building, there's a large bicycle retailer (and) we've managed to keep the fire from that premises," Mr Hansen said.
"Of significant concern to us was a paint store to the right-hand side of the building.
"Again we've been able to keep the fire out of that."
A community advice alert was issued for nearby communities, urging people to close windows and doors and turn off heating and cooling systems to avoid the smoke.
Firefighters will be at the scene for the rest of the day and into the night monitoring the site as the strength of the fire eases.
