Balwyn unit fire under control

Initial crews arrived on scene within seven minutes to find smoke issuing from a ground floor unit.

Firefighters and police worked together to safely evacuate around 50 residents from the building, with paramedics also assisting at the scene.

Wearing breathing apparatus, FRV crews entered the building and conducted a search for occupants to ensure no one was trapped inside.

Fortunately, there were no injuries reported at the scene.

Firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze and brought the fire under control just before 1:45pm.

At the height of the incident there were eight firefighting appliances at the scene, along with one command unit.

The cause of the fire is not yet known, but FRV's specialist fire investigators will attend the scene.