A popular Geelong store has been badly damaged in an early-morning fire that sent residents in an adjacent apartment building running for their lives.
Emergency crews were called to Mercer Street just after 2am on Wednesday after reports that the Jaycar outlet was on fire.
They arrived to find a large plume of black smoke billowing into the air, prompting authorities to issue a community information alert.
The warning said that while there was no danger to the public, smoke would be visible from nearby roads and communities.
Eleven fire units were called in to battle the flames, while police blocked Mercer Street to all traffic.
Paramedics were also on scene but no injuries were reported.
Casey, who lives on the second level of the adjacent apartment building, told Geelong Broadcasters he was woken by his cousin Josie.
“I heard the dogs barking and then I heard Josie going, ‘get up! get up!'” he said.
“I looked out the window and the whole roof was on fire.”
As the pair watched firefighters working to control the blaze from a bench seat across the road, Josie told how the noise generated by the fire woke her from her sleep.
“It was all the banging, the tin roof was popping up, it was flying everywhere” Josie said.
“The dogs were barking, they’d been set off by all the commotion.”
Josie said she woke everyone and called the triple zero (000) emergency number.
Police and fire investigators will examine the scene to determine the cause of the fire.
