Three people found dead after a suspicious fire at an abandoned Melbourne factory are believed to have been squatting there for months.
Witnesses said they heard screaming but were unable to help the people inside the old Footscray ropeworks factory on Wednesday night.
"I heard some screaming but I was not sure who was screaming," a man who identified himself as Muhammad told reporters at the scene on Thursday.
"Then I saw the fire and I saw the front person was throwing water from the back but the fire was so large they couldn't control it."
Three bodies were found shortly after firefighters extinguished the blaze in a rear room about 12.10am on Thursday.
The fire is being treated as suspicious.
Fire investigators have begun cleaning out the cluttered room where they died.
Locals say squatters had occupied the factory for months, if not years, and had been known to lock themselves inside at night.
The heritage-listed site between Ballarat Rd and Kinnear St was recently sold for $60 million and is set to be redeveloped into an apartment complex.
MFB and police were seen dragging the charred objects from the back room as they investigated on Thursday.
Residents and workers in the area said the rough sleepers kept to themselves.
They say the squatters' presence had been linked to less vandalism at nearby Footscray City College.
"My husband saw a chicken recently," local resident Rebecca told AAP on Thursday.
"They were definitely getting settled in. No one really wanted to do anything because there's a big homelessness problem."
