Arson probe after car hits shop before fire
A major fire that broke out in a Birmingham shop is being treated as arson after a vehicle hit the building, police have said.
Residents in flats above the shop in Sparkhill had to leave their homes after the building was set alight shortly before 04:55 GMT.
At its height, 55 firefighters were involved in tackling the blaze on the busy Stratford Road, although there were no injuries reported.
Property developer Isaac Zintaan, who has a business in the area, said people who lived nearby told him they heard a loud explosion "like a bomb went off".
Mr Zintaan, 28, said: "[When I arrived] everyone was coughing due to the intensity of the smoke."
He said it appeared a car had rammed a supermarket on the ground flood of the building and footage showed a Land Rover on fire with its rear to the property, as if it had reversed into it.
A 4x4 was pictured being extracted from the shop by a fire truck and the vehicle appeared charred and warped by the blaze.
An arson investigation is under way by police and fire investigators.
"It's understood a vehicle hit the building," West Midlands Police said in a statement.
"It was set alight, causing the shop and flats above to catch fire."
A fire service spokesman said the fire at the front of a retail shop spread to shop signage and the bay windows of flats above.
The fire has since been brought under control, although crews remained at the scene.
West Midlands Fire Service sent 10 fire engines, two 4x4 brigade response vehicles and a hydraulic aerial platform to the scene.
Five people who had to leave the flats were checked by paramedics, but there were no casualties.
The A34 Stratford Road - a main route into Birmingham centre - was closed in both directions during morning rush hour between Formans Road and Nansen Road.
Buses operated by National Express West Midlands were diverted.
On the Sparkhill Neighbourhood page on Facebook, administrator Abdul Khan urged people to plan their journeys.
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