Refugees and asylum seekers were evacuated from a Melbourne detention hotel after emergency services were called to "several fires".
Police said it was believed one person was taken to hospital with smoke inhalation and that a member of staff was assaulted at the hotel.
Crews were called to the Park Hotel in Carlton at around 1.30pm on Thursday after an automatic fire alarm was triggered.
Fire and Rescue Victoria said crews found "several fires issuing from a five-storey building".
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A spokesperson added: "All occupants were safely evacuated, and multiple patients were transferred into the care of Ambulance Victoria paramedics.
"Victoria Police are also on scene and will investigate the cause of the fire."
Police added the circumstances of the incident are unknown and the investigation is ongoing.
Asylum seeker and refugee men have been kept in the hotel, some for nearly two years.
The hotel has also seen a COVID-19 outbreak among the group.
Asylum Seeker Resource Centre campaigns director Jana Favero told AAP about 33 men are still being held there despite repeated pleas for them to be freed.
The men had told the ASRC there was chaos when the fire broke out and they were initially taken to a lower floor in the building, Ms Favero said.
"There was a lot of panic," she said.
The men all have health conditions including some with asthma, Ms Favero said, and having escaped war and violence "this is another compounding thing to deal with".
Bengali asylum seeker Mohammad Joy Miah told SBS News he was in the shower when the fire broke out.
"The guards knocked my door ... then I came out. Still I'm feeling dizziness."
With AAP
