Video: Major fire breaks out in Melbourne warehouse; no casualties

A fire in an industrial warehouse lit up the Melbourne sky on Thursday morning with thick smoke billowing across the city skyline, forcing residents to seek shelter and schools to shut, according to Australian media.

Melbourne Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) said the fire began around 5am local time (1900 GMT), with more than 100 fire-fighters battling the blaze, according to the Nine Network. MFB Acting Deputy Chief Officer Ken Brown said that the warehouse contained acetone and oxyacetylene, which energised the fire.

"We concerted effort to stop the fire spreading into neighbouring buildings which we managed to successfully do," fire department official Ken Brown said.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that several schools in the proximity of the smoke were closed, while planes were diverted from the area.