Despite the flames never directly reaching the animals, 579 pets housed in the shop succumbed to smoke inhalation. Among the casualties were chickens, hamsters, two dogs, and two cats, Evans added in a statement.
The two-alarm fire took about two hours and as many as 45 fire fighters to extinguish around 11 am, Evans said.
“While DFR personnel did search and attempt rescue, all animals in the shop unfortunately perished due to smoke inhalation,” Evans said.
No people were injured in the fire. The structure of the large, one-story shopping centre was severely damaged, including a partially collapsed roof, Evans said.
The shopping centre includes multiple small businesses and was described on its Facebook page as “a place where people can go to eat, and buy all sorts of Latin goods and services.” A post on the page in Spanish asked for prayers for the families who work there. The cause of the fire was not immediately determined and is under investigation, Evans said.
Australia’s southeast sweated in a heatwave that intensified on Sunday, elevating bushfire risk and prompting authorities to issue fire bans for more parts of Victoria state.
Australia is in the grips of a high-risk bushfire season, with firefighters last week battling a large blaze that ripped through Victoria’s Grampians National Park, razing homes and farmland.
The nation’s weather forecaster warned that temperatures could reach 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) in some parts of Australia’s second most populous state of Victoria on Sunday. The mercury in state capital Melbourne was forecast to hit 38 C (100 F).