Apartments evacuated after Melbourne fire

At least two dozen people have been evacuated from a Melbourne apartment block after a neighbouring business caught fire in suspicious circumstances.

Police noticed the fire while on patrol in Northcote, in the city's northeast, on Saturday morning and rushed to evacuate the block.

All escaped without injury.

The fire was brough under control in about half an hour and all residents have since been able to return home, the Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) says.

While the cost of the fire damage is yet to be determined, the MFB said it was minimised by the early detection.

Police have asked for any witnesses to come forward.

"At this stage, the cause of the fire is not known, however police are treating it as suspicious," police said in a statement.