Series of fires at Port Melbourne apartment complex under police investigation
When firefighters rushed to extinguish a blaze at Port Melbourne, they did not expect to stumble upon another series of fires elsewhere at the apartment complex. The brand new development was evacuated, forcing dozens of residents onto the street.
Inner South
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If a suspicious fire on the eleventh floor of a new apartment building in Port Melbourne wasn’t enough to raise a few eyebrows, a number of smaller basement fires were.
Fire Rescue Victoria members responded to a triple-zero call about 10.30pm on Tuesday night with reports of curtains on fire.
Minutes after the call was made, the internal fire alarm activated alerting all occupants of the three-tower, 11-storey complex to evacuate.
Firefighters in breathing apparatus arrived and made their way to the tenth and eleventh floor to investigate smoke in the corridors.
They found the fire was in an apartment on the eleventh floor and had been extinguished by the installed sprinkler system.
But a number of smaller fires were also discovered in the basement and extinguished by firefighters.
The fire was declared under control 70 minutes after receiving the first call.
The fire was deemed suspicious and Victoria Police is investigating.
At the height of the emergency, about 350 residents evacuated to a safe area at the rear of the complex.
None of the residents sustained any injuries.
Victoria Police and Ambulance Victoria were also in attendance.
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