Prahran shop fire: 51-year-old man fighting for life after inner suburban store torched

Holly Hales
AAP
Investigators say the torched shop on Chapel Street was the target of a previous arson attempt. (Diego Fedele/AAP PHOTOS)
Investigators say the torched shop on Chapel Street was the target of a previous arson attempt. (Diego Fedele/AAP PHOTOS) Credit: AAP

A man is fighting for life after a shop was set on fire in an early morning arson attack.

The 51-year-old was found critically injured after several men were seen pouring accelerant inside the building on Chapel Street in Melbourne’s Prahran before it was set alight about 4.15am.

The group then fled in a waiting vehicle, with one of the group visibly on fire.

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No one else was inside the building at the time.

The store was extensively damaged in the blaze, which also damaged surrounding businesses.

Less than an hour later, emergency services were called to an address in Fitzroy after reports of a man with significant burns to his body.

The injured man was taken to hospital where he remains in a critical condition.

A crime scene has been established at the Chapel Street site and an arson chemist will attend the scene on Wednesday afternoon.

Investigators believe an attempted arson at the same store on December 6 is likely linked.

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