A fire has engulfed a supermarket in Melbourne’s western suburb of Footscray, causing extensive damage this morning.

Fire crews were called to the iconic Little Saigon market shortly after 6am and it has taken more than seven hours to bring the blaze under control.

According to the Age, the fire has destroyed at least 6000 school textbooks and Christmas presents donated to the Les Twentyman Foundation.

It also reports the foundation used most of the second level as a make-shift library for students who couldn’t afford to buy their own textbooks as part of the back-to-school program, which has been running for almost 30 years.

The fire is believed to have started in a cool room in some machinery and was not being treated as suspicious.

The market is made up of about 25 small businesses including restaurants, a bakery, and an Asian market.

– with other agencies