8 Indians in Australia narrowly escape building fire

Eight Indians had a narrow escape when an Internet cafe below their flat here caught fire following an explosion under suspicious circumstances, minutes after a similar incident at a nearby warehouse.

Residents sharing a flat above the Internet cafe in Sydney Road, Brunswick, were woken by a loud bang just before 1.30 am (local time), according to 'The Age'.

Metropolitan Fire Brigade acting commander Steve Dorman said the flatmates made a narrow escape on hearing smoke alarms as the cafe's front windows blew out and the two-storey brick building caught fire.

The fire gutted the cafe and a ground-floor residence while causing significant damage to adjoining buildings. It took 25 firefighters almost an hour to control to the flames. MFB commander Ian Yates told local media that the fire might have caused the explosion in the cafe.

"There's also occupants living above the shop which is our primary concern and the crews had to get in with breathing apparatus to make sure everybody was out safely. "It was a bit touch and go there for a little while but they did a great job once again," Yates said.

None of the upstairs residents were injured. Minutes earlier, just before 1.15 am (local time), a fire had spread quickly through a warehouse nearby in East Brunswick. Both the fires are considered suspicious and are being investigated by police, the paper said.