Police are treating a fire in the grandstand of Melbourne’s Caulfield racecourse on Tuesday morning as suspicious.
Emergency services were notified of the fire at about 6:20am, and brought the blaze under control shortly after 7am.
Sixteen firetrucks attended the scene to contain the fire which engulfed parts of the grandstand and a restaurant.
A community advice has been issued for smoke in the area.
Speaking on RSN, Melbourne Racing Club chairman John Kanga said the Norman Robinson stand was impacted.
“It started on the deck, outside the bar… There is significant water damage to that bar, and the Medallion Bar underneath that,” Kanga said.
“I’m not an engineer, but the structure doesn’t look like there is; there is damage, but it looks repairable.”
“You can replace buildings, but you can’t replace human lives, so that’s the positive.”
No one was injured, and the area was evacuated safely.
“A crime scene has been established. The investigation remains ongoing,” a police spokesperson said in a statement.