Essendon coach Mark Thompson was among residents who were evacuated when a car repair shop burst into flames in Port Melbourne.
The business went up in flames at around 12.30am on Thursday morning.
It took 25 firefighters almost 30 minutes to get the blaze under control and prevent it from reaching neighbouring homes, one of which belonged to Thompson.
The Bombers coach said he could smell smoke in his own house and, when he went out onto the street to investigate, saw the shop was engulfed in flames.
"I tried to ring the fire brigade and I couldn't ring them (because) I was panicking so much," Thompson told 7News.
"But I eventually got hold of them and they said 'yep, there will be one here pretty soon'."
A neighbour said he heard two loud bangs and saw a Harley Davidson motorbike in the lane way nearby.
Police spokesman Sen-Constable Adam West said the fire is being treated as suspicious and the area has become a crime scene.
The shop and several cars inside it were completely destroyed. No one was injured.
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