A CIGARETTE is believed to have started a fire which caused substantial damage to a unit in Warrnambool on Monday morning.
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Emergency services were called to adjoining units at Ocean Grove in east Warrnambool about 1am.
Firefighters were able to contain the fire to one of the flats which was mostly destroyed by the blaze.
The adjoining unit sustained smoke damage.
A Warrnambool police spokesman said this morning the fire was not being treated as suspicious. It is believed to have been sparked by a cigarette.
The occupants of both units were evacuated without anyone suffering injuries.
Elsewhere an arson chemist is expected to be called in to investigate the cause of a hayshed fire at Barwon Downs, south-east of Colac.
Detective Senior Constable Mick Palmer, of the Colac police crime investigation unit, said emergency services were alerted to the fire at about 7am Sunday.
He said the hayshed, between Forrest and Birregurra, contained 180 large round bales.
The hayshed valued at $30,000 and most of the hay, worth about $10,000, has been destroyed.
Detective Senior Constable Palmer said police would wait until the fire was completely put out before an arson chemist examined the scene in an attempt to determine a cause.