Stitch 'n' Sew, Unique Hair and Straight Lines had to be evacuated when a fire erupted in the three-story shop building near the Victoria Hotel.  

Police said nobody was injured in the fire.

Griffith firefighters in breathing apparatuses are still inside the building and a crime scene has been set up. 

While the cause of the fire is still under investigation, police said the blaze is being treated as suspicious. 

A witness said she saw a male teenager behind the building only minutes before she smelled smoke.

"There was a kid at back of the shop - he was about 13 or 14 or 15.

"He looked right up there (to the back door of the building, which has outside stairs to the tops floors) and then he walked away."

The witness said only moments later she and a colleague could smell smoke.

"We had a look (in one of the rooms) and there was smoke everywhere."