A huge fire has destroyed a car parts store and badly damaged a shop next door in Epping, in Melbourne's north.
More than 100 firefighters have been working at the site in High Street, Epping, since the alarm was raised at 5am.
A passer-by noticed flames in the building a called emergency services, who responded within minutes.
Fire Rescue Victoria [FRV] Deputy Commissioner Michelle Young said fire crews had just arrived at the scene when an explosion blew out the front doors of the Supercheap Auto store.
The fire also spread to a Cash Converters shop next door, which was badly damaged.
"It's probably a total loss for one of the buildings so it will be a very expensive exercise and I'd say a total destruction of everything that's in the Supercheap store," Deputy Commissioner Young said.
About 25 fire trucks attended the scene and were supported by CFA crews.
Deputy Commissioner Young said it was too early to pinpoint the cause of the blaze.
"That's still undetermined and will be investigated once the fire is out and it's safe to do so to get both police crews and fire investigators from Fire Rescue Victoria onsite," she said.
"We've only had minor roof collapse but the building is a tilt slab construction so some of the walls are caving in and some of them look like they're going to go outwards and that's a real safety concern."
Parts of High Street and the High Street/Cooper Street intersection have been closed.
FRV said there was no threat to the community but there would be considerable smoke in the area and people who live nearby should close their windows and doors.
Officers from the Environment Protection Agency were also onsite to help manage runoff from fire hoses.
