Seven police hurt after pulling two men from massive shop explosion in Wentworthville in Sydney's west Fire crews and police are investigating huge explosion and fire on Station Street in Wentworthville overnight. Courtesy Ten Network Fire Brigades officers search through the rubble today. TWO men pulled from the rubble of an explosion and fire that gutted a small supermarket and residential premises in Sydney's west are "extremely lucky" to be alive, firefighters say. A huge explosion tore through the Wentworthville shopping strip`on the corner of Pritchard and Station streets at 4.15am, causing a building to collapse and shattering glass for hundreds of metres around the neighbourhood. Two police patrolling the street at the time were first on the scene and helped rescue one man who crawled away from the explosion and another who was trapped. Firefighters initially believed there were two more men in the rubble, who were presumed dead, but police later confirmed no one had died and the two men pulled from the rubble and seven police officers, who suffered smoke inhalation, were the only casualties. One of two Iranian men, who lived in the demolished flat and was one of the men presumed dead, Mohsen Nanizae, 60, returned to the rear car park after 10am and told the Telegraph the police called him this morning to confirm he hadn't been inside when the building collapsed. Mr Nanizae said his friend Syris Persia, also in his 60s, was one of the two men injured and believed the other man to be the owner of the Lebanese Jumma Market, formerly the Afghans-run Kabuljan Market, who locals knew as "Shady," aged in his 30s, and who took over the market earlier this year. Mr Persia is believed to have fallen when the building collapsed, while "Shady" was in the store downstairs and occasionally slept there. I was here yesterday afternoon. My friend is in hospital I want to go see him, the police said he is okay" he said. The scene this morning. A distraught woman screaming "my husband, my husband" at the scene. Photo: Stephen Cooper Source: News Limited Firefighters search the rubble after reports two men were unnaccounted for. Pic Stephen Cooper Source: News Limited Emergency teams at first thought two men had been trapped under the rubble. Investigation ... Torn apart ... Scene of the devastation. Mr Nanizae said there had been nothing suspicious in the neighbourhood other than someone stealing his car a few months ago. Firefighters pulled many canaries and finches in cages, some of them dead, from the building which Mr Persia owned. I want to see what happened to them. We maybe have a hundred. They are birds they can't do nothing," he said. Mr Nanizae said the fire couldn't have been caused by his friend possibly cooking because they didn't have a kitchen. Mike Potts was in a room directly opposite the explosion above the Wenthworthville Hotel, where several New Zealanders stay long term, when the fire erupted. "The glass blew in, I heard people screaming," he said. There was glass on the bed and heat from the flames was intense. I can still hear the people yelling for help now. I can still hear the voices. It was two different voices in their language. Suggestions are the fire may have started after one man started from someone cooking. NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Denis Clifford the two injured men were in a serious but stable condition and his officers went in to the rubble more than six times to look for other residents. It was nothing short of heroic. If they hadn't have done that (gone in several times) we would have had a fatality on our hands," he said. He said the search would continue until it was clear there was no one else in the smouldering remains. Ass Comm Clifford also couldn't confirm if the "suspicious" nature of the fire involved possible explosives. I don't know what the cause is. It's been a significant explosion. What the cause was will subject of the investigation. He said because it was "total confusion" he could understand why it was believed two more men were in the rubble. "When you've got a building that's blown apart I can understand the confusion," he said. Fire and Rescue Superintendent Paul Bailey said it was a "delicate operation" involving 60 firefighters, thermal cameras and sniffer dogs. He said the dividing wall was unstable and asbestos had been uncovered during the rescue. The canine sniffer dog would indicate if any accelerant fanned the flames or was a possible cause of the explosion. "We haven't found anybody in there," he said just before 8am. We are getting intel that hiss mates may not have been home. There is no physical evidence that they are here or not here. Supt Bailey said it was still unclear whether the explosion that rocked the western Sydney shopping strip was caused by the fire or as a result of it. The building had essentially been exploded and we found two people in the rubble on the ground floor. The other two were not sighted," he said. Police established a crime scene around the area following the 4am explosion. The immediate area following the blast. Aerial fighters tackle the blaze. All the windows and doors had been blown out. It was a very intense fire but due to the extreme heat firefighters fought it from the outside. Supt Bailey said due to fears the smouldering rubble could be dangerous for firefighters "minimal crews" were being used and the site had been contained due to the asbestos found among the debris. Local resident Matatata Pakoti said he bought his cigarettes from the store, while another local worker said there were lots of oils in the shop. They said the owner was known as "Habib." "There is an old guy but his sons and nephews take over," Mr Pakoti said. I bought a bird from him (who lived upstairs). He's about 50 or 60. A quiet guy.