Melbourne Shocked As Tobacco Shop Goes Up In Flames Due To Legitimate Electrical Fault

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The people of Melbourne are in a state of confusion today, after a non-suspicious fire at a tobacco store in the city's north overnight.

Victoria Police say a motorist noticed smoke coming from the windows above the shopfront at about 3am on Thursday morning.

Concerns have been raised that a man was allegedly not seen running from the building before speeding away in a stolen vehicle.

This fire is also not linked to another blaze in the same strip of shops earlier this month, or any other tobacco shop fires in greater Victoria for that matter.

Police said they are investigating the possibilities of this fire being caused by a legitimate accident, such as a gas or electrical fault within the premises.

Locals say they are lost for words - and remain shocked that the glass shopfront was not rammed by a 4WD before going up in flames.

"We do not believe this was an arson attempt" said a visibly shaken Victoria Police spokesperson.

"We believe this is just one of those rare, unlucky incidents that can happen to anyone - and therefore causes far more concern amongst locals than a random act of organised crime that we usually forget about quite quickly in the 24-hour news cycle"

The investigating officer stumbled through the rest of the press conference, unable to make much sense of it all.

"It's just... Such a shock. The community is really startled. This is not the Melbourne we know"

"It doesn't even look like insurance fraud"

"At this stage I'm looking at maybe a dodgy e-bike battery... Or maybe a candle fell over?"

Anyone with dash cam footage that might show a cigarette being carelessly flicked onto a pile of leaves, or late night pedestrians who perhaps witnessed an extension cord sparking due to being exposed to the condensation of the cool drinks fridge before the flame spread to the newspaper stand and curtain - have been urged to contact authorities urgently.