UPDATE: POLICE have charged a man following an alleged altercation in Southbank in which a man was set on fire.

The 34-year-old man faced an out of sessions hearing this morning and was charged with causing serious injury, conduct endangering life and other assault related charges.

He has been remanded to appear at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court later Saturday.

The news comes as a man fights for life after being set alight at an abandoned factory at Southbank.

Police arrested two men, one suffering minor injuries, following the suspicious fire at a building on Hancock St, near the CityLink tollway.

The victim is understood to have suffered severe burns to his upper body and was treated by paramedics on scene before being taken to The Alfred hospital around 12.15pm.

MFB Commander Graeme O’Sullivan said the building was unoccupied but firefighters found mattresses in the building.

“There’s indications there may have been squatters in the building,” O’Sullivan said.

media_camera Emergency services at the scene of the Southbank fire.

Workers in the area reported seeing two young men hiding on the roof of the burning building.

Samantha Lang, who works in the street, said she smelt “toxic fumes” in the area after returning from her lunch break and saw smoke billowing from the building.

Ms Lang said she could see police in the area where the man had been burnt but said officers “didn’t seem to realise the building was on fire”.

Ms Lang called triple-0 and firefighters arrived a couple of minutes later to battle the blaze.

“I then rang my colleague who said he could see two men with backpacks crawling across the roof of the building,” Ms Lang said.

Another witness told the Herald Sun they were walking down Clarke St when they saw a man lying in the driveway of a building, suffering severe burns.

“It was pretty horrific, all his skin was peeled off,” the witness said. “He was screaming in pain, it didn’t look good for him.”

The witness, who did not wish to be identified, said he saw paramedics load the injured man into a waiting ambulance before speeding away from the scene.

media_camera A patient with burns to the hands in the back of an ambulance is taken away. Picture: David Caird

“Emergency services have responded to an alleged assault and building fire in Southbank,” a Victoria Police spokeswoman said.

“Police and MFB crews attended the intersection of Clarke St and Hancock St about 12.20pm.

“Two males have been arrested by police, one with minor injuries, while a third was taken to hospital in a critical condition.”

The fire was brought under control around 1pm today, but the street has been closed off to the public. Emergency services are attempting to clear the area.

The affected building is understood to be filled with asbestos and there are strong fumes in the area.

A Metropolitan Fire Brigade spokeswoman said seven trucks were on the scene after reports of smoke coming from a single-storey building.

Ambulance Victoria said a man aged in his 40s was treated for serious burns and has been taken to The Alfred hospital.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.