Before dawn had broken over Melbourne’s bayside suburbs, an eerie orange glow pierced the quiet of Lower Dandenong Road, a warning that something had gone terribly wrong.
At approximately 4:04am on Tuesday, 30 June 2026, Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) crews were dispatched to a rapidly escalating building fire at Mentone Mart, a single-storey retail shop nestled within a suburban strip at 125 Lower Dandenong Road. What they encountered upon arrival was a volatile and dangerous scene: flames tearing through the shopfront, live powerlines crackling and collapsing across the roadway, and a ruptured gas line feeding the fire with relentless intensity.
Firefighters, working in breathing apparatus under hazardous conditions, launched an aggressive attack using multiple hoselines. Their priority was clear, contain the inferno before it could leap to neighbouring businesses in the tightly packed strip. Amid the chaos of sparking electrical lines and burning gas, crews methodically pushed back the blaze, gaining control within 28 minutes. By 4:36am, the fire was officially declared under control.
A thorough search of the premises confirmed there were no occupants inside at the time, a small but significant relief in an otherwise destructive incident. Despite the swift response, the shop sustained extensive damage, its interior gutted and façade scarred by the early morning firestorm.The complexity of the scene extended beyond the flames themselves. Downed live wires and the active gas-fed fire created a high-risk environment, forcing crews to coordinate carefully as they worked to neutralise multiple threats simultaneously. Support from CFA (Country Fire Authority) firefighters bolstered the operation, ensuring resources matched the scale of the emergency.
As daylight revealed the aftermath, investigators began piecing together the cause of the blaze, now officially deemed suspicious. Victoria Police have taken carriage of the investigation, with the site handed over following the conclusion of fire duty operations at 1:21pm.
Adding to the gravity of the scene was the presence of Toorak Times’ crime scene photographer Lord Murray Schoorman, who documented the charred remains and emergency response for major news outlets. His lens captured not only the destruction but the intricate detail of a high-risk firefighting operation under pressure.
Throughout the morning and into the afternoon, firefighters were seen liaising over the phone with Commander Matthew Blandford, who later attended the scene in person at approximately 1:19pm to oversee final operations and fire duty assessment.Whilst the owner of “Mentone Mart”, Mr. A Mohamed, was unavailable for comment to us, it has been reported that he went to Police a couple of weeks ago, after having received a threatening message from “The Commission”.
As the Fire Duty Pod A was prepared for collection and the last of the crews cleared the area, Mentone was left with the lingering scent of smoke and a community seeking answers.
What began as a quiet winter morning had, in less than half an hour, turned into a dramatic and dangerous emergency, one that now sits at the centre of a growing investigation.
 crews were dispatched to a rapidly escalating building fire at Mentone Mart, a single-storey retail shop nestled within a suburban strip at 125 Lower Dandenong Road. What they encountered upon arrival was a volatile and dangerous scene: flames tearing through the shopfront, live powerlines crackling and collapsing across the roadway, and a ruptured gas line feeding the fire with relentless intensity.){kind=link}