Wangaratta fire brigade senior station officer Ian Lilley said crews were called to the motel on Tone Road at 1.04 pm.

"One of the units was fully involved," he said.

"It was among a block of units joined together and we had some work to do to make sure it wasn't spreading.

"Nobody was hurt; everybody had evacuated and the premises will need to be examined by building surveyors to determine what will happen at this point forward."

Mr Lilley said fire investigators were on scene with the cause of the blaze yet to be determined.

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"The building was old and full of asbestos, so we had to deal with that," he said.

"It's not being treated as suspicious.

"The people have been put up in other forms of accommodation."

Glenrowan units assisted with the fire and it was brought under control at 1.20pm, but firefighters stayed on scene until 2.30pm.