Dozens of firefighters rush to blaze at Emergency Management Victoria building
Dozens of firefighters have rushed to the scene of a blaze on the fourth floor of an office building in Melbourne that houses the state's main control centre for emergency management.
Occupants of the building were evacuated shortly after 7pm on Wednesday after the automatic alarm went off and the Metropolitan Fire Brigade were notified.
It is understood the power was cut to the building, however, operations out of the State Control Centre were not affected as they were moved to another location.
"There's been no impact on operations and there is a redundancy operation at a separate site," a spokeswoman from Emergency Management Victoria said.
"There were no impacts at all to the operation of the SCC."
About 30 firefighters attended the scene to try and bring the fire under control. It was not yet under control several hours later at 10pm and Melburnians were being warned to avoid the area.
The SCC is the state's primary control centre for the management of emergencies, and is also the central hub of a network of regional and incident control centres across Victoria.
According the EMV's website, the control centre is located on level four of the building, which is where the MFB said they were fighting the fire.
The building is also where the offices for Fire Emergency Management and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning are located.
Paramedics were called to the scene about 7.30pm and assessed several people for smoke inhalation, but no one was taken to hospital. There are no reported injuries.
An advice message has been issued by the MFB by Vic Emergency for those in East Melbourne, Melbourne, Fitzroy and Carlton.
"There is a building fire at 8 Nicholson Street East Melbourne. Fire Appliances are in this area suppressing the fire," the message reads.
"Motorists are advised to avoid and remain clear of the area. Traffic will be managed by Vic Police with closures at parts of Nicholson Street between Victoria Parade and Albert Street."
The community was also being urged to keep the roads clear for emergency vehicles, which were expected to be on the scene for some time.