Police fear three people may have been inside the former Goldfingers strip club when a fire ripped through the building on Tuesday morning.

The building was formerly home to Goldfingers strip club, which had not been open for several years.

It took 50 firefighters 90 minutes to bring the blaze under control.

Fire Rescue Victoria Commander Mitch Simons told 9News the building was a known site for squatters, sparking concerns people may have been inside the building when it went up in flames.

Today Show reporter Christine Ahern says there are fears that three squatters may have been inside.

“They desperately want to get in there and search, however they just can’t at the moment — it’s just too dangerous. They hope to do that later today,” she said.

“What they will do is send the engineers to have a look at the facade, have a look at the building, and then once the deem it safe fire investigators will then go in and begin that grim search.”

Lonsdale Street remains closed to traffic in both directions between King and William streets due to concerns part of the building facade may collapse.

Press PLAY below for more on the blaze aftermath

CBD strip club destroyed by ‘suspicious’ fire

Image (at back): 9News