Breaking: Ten shops on fire in inner Melbourne after arson ram raid

Ten businesses are on fire after a shop was rammed and set alight in Richmond, in inner Melbourne.

Firefighters were called to the busy Victoria Street shopping strip about 4:15am after calls to Triple Zero (000).

More than 80 firefighters have responded, with more crews called in in the past hour.

A Fire Rescue Victoria spokesperson said the blaze had spread through at least 10 businesses in the one building.

"Crews prevented the blaze spreading to neighbouring buildings and are working to get the incident under control," a spokesperson said.

Police said unknown offenders drove a vehicle into a business and set it alight before fleeing the scene.

"It is understood the storefronts on either side of the business were affected," a Victoria Police spokesperson said.

No-one was inside the targeted business at the time.

VicEmergency has issued a community alert for smoke in the area.

Victoria Street is closed to all traffic, including trams.

Police have set up a crime scene and an investigation is underway.