A fire at a Birmingham shop hit by a car sounded “like a bomb went off” according to local residents, as police investigate suspected arson.
West Midlands Police said it understood a “vehicle hit the building” at Stratford Road, Sparkhill, in the early hours of Monday.
It added that the vehicle was “set alight, causing the shop and flats above to catch fire”.
Local property developer Isaac Zintaan said he was alerted to the fire by residents of his nearby premises after they told him they heard a “loud explosion”.
Mr Zintaan said he thought the fire was caused by a car which was set alight and rammed into a supermarket.
“I have a business close by… the residents of my premises heard a loud explosion – ‘like a bomb went off’ that’s what they described,” the 28-year-old from Sparkhill told the PA news agency.
“(When I arrived) everyone was coughing due to the intensity of the smoke.”
Emergency services attended the scene of a fire at a mixed commercial and residential premises on Stratford Road in Sparkhill, Birmingham (Jacob King/PA)
Mr Zintaan said it appeared a car had rammed the supermarket on the ground floor of the building and footage taken by him showed a Land Rover on fire with its rear to the property – as if having reversed into it.
A 4×4 was pictured on Monday morning being extracted from the shop by a fire truck.
The car appeared charred and warped by the fire, with bay windows above the shop burnt out.
West Midlands Fire Service said it responded to the incident at Stratford Road, Sparkhill, shortly before 4.55am on Monday.
The fire service said the blaze at the front of a retail store spread to shop signage and the bay windows of flats above.
In an update on Monday morning, it said the fire was “under control” and there were no casualties or injuries after five people received checks from paramedics after leaving their properties.
In a statement on Monday morning, West Midlands Fire Service said: “Firefighters have made good progress at the scene and the fire is under control.
“The hydraulic aerial platform remains in use as crews work to prevent fire spread. Two fire engines remain at the scene.
“Police colleagues are in attendance. Stratford Road is closed in both directions from Formans Road to Nansen Road.”
Ten fire engines, two 4×4 brigade response vehicles and a hydraulic aerial platform responded to the incident, crewed by around 55 firefighters, the fire service added.
In a statement, West Midlands Police said: “We are investigating after a suspected arson on Stratford Road, Birmingham, this morning (23 December).
“We were called at around 4.50am to reports of a fire at a shop.
“It’s understood a vehicle hit the building. It was set alight, causing the shop and flats above to catch fire.
“Anyone with any information is asked to contact us via live chat on our website or call 101 quoting 437 of 23 December.”