Updated at 6.42pm: The owner of a metal shop in Central is in a serious condition after a former employee allegedly attacked him with a corrosive liquid and then set his shop on fire, on Thursday afternoon.
At about 4.20pm a fire broke out at a 200 square metre metal shop located at 112 Wellington Street after a fight broke out between the owner and a former employee.
Local radio reported witnesses as saying they heard what sounded like an explosion.
''During the dispute the former employee splashed the owner of the shop with a corrosive substance and then a fire broke out,'' a police spokeswoman said.
About 100 people in the area of Stanley and Cochrane Street had to be evacuated while 20 people were led to safety at the rooftop of the building by firefighters.
''Our team extinguished the flames under 20 minutes using two jets,'' a Fire Services Department spokesman said.
