Port Adelaide defender Brandon Zerk-Thatcher has had to flee his home in Glenelg East as a fire threatened to set the property aflame.

A police investigation is underway following the fire in the early hours of the morning, which started with a car that was set alight, and quickly spread. 

Zerk-Thatcher and his partner, Abby, live next door to the unit where the fire started and had to evacuate along with their pets. 

“By the time we opened the door I reckon it had just got to our house, so we got our cats and ran out of there,” Zerk-Thatcher said. 

“It’s pretty scary. Definitely makes you question if it’s safe to live here.”

Emergency services arrived at the scene around 2am to combat the fire, which threatened multiple properties on Brighton Road. 

“I was just thinking hopefully the car doesn’t explode or anything. I was just hoping everyone was safe,” resident Blake Bishop said.

Another resident, Madison Bishop, reported hearing an explosion before the blaze. 

“Before I exited my van to see the fire there was an explosion and I heard patters on the top of my van, which I’m guessing was glass,” she said.

Witnesses told police they spotted people running from the scene shortly after the fire started, while others have told 9News they stepped over a jerry can as they dashed to safety.

Detectives are now hunting for those responsible.