A business owner has been left devastated after a suspicious fire gutted a strip of shops in Melbourne’s south-east overnight.
Emergency services were called to reports of the fire on Heyington Crescent in Noble Park about 2am.
Crews arrived to find a stolen utility on fire inside a business, with the blaze quickly spreading.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze and there were no reports of physical injuries.
A crime scene has been established and it’s believed the intended target of the attack was Midnight Studio, a recording studio in the middle of a small row of businesses.
A pizzeria next door was also destroyed after the blaze spread.
Paula Cianciarulo and her family own the restaurant and said they were struggling to come to terms with the loss of their business.
“We don’t know what we are going to do, we don’t have any insurance,” she said.
“We have a mortgage here, and our house. It’s terrible. The business was five years in the making.”
Cianciarulo lives a block away from the shop and was awoken by the blaze.
“We heard noises and (my husband) came running and he said the shop was on fire,” she said.
The flames were huge, we are devasted.”
She said it was the first time she had seen her husband of 25 years cry.
Police are treating the fire as suspicious and believe unknown offenders drove the car into the building before setting it alight.
The car was stolen from Mulgrave overnight.
Investigations into the incident remain ongoing but police believe the blazw is not linked to other arson incidents.
