Six out of hospital after 'lucky escape' from Molotov cocktail

Six people have made a lucky escape after a Molotov cocktail was thrown at a Sydney shop overnight.

Just after 1am in Marrickville, in Sydney's inner west, a white four-wheel drive pulled up outside a shop.

CCTV showed two men in dark clothing and hoodies get out of the vehicle.

One placed a red jerry can by the front door, and the other stood back and hurled the flaming bottle at the shopfront.

The flashes from the explosion are then seen on CCTV cameras lighting up the street as the man rushed back to their car to flee.

Police were patrolling in the area at the time and were quickly alerted to the blaze.

The six residents of the shop were able to scramble out onto the roof to escape the flames.

"The six occupants had managed to escape the fire, climb out onto the awning and then managed to get themselves out of the building and onto the skillion roof at the rear of the building," Simon Flynn of the NSW Fire Brigade said.

"They were extraordinarily lucky.

"If we had been 30 seconds later, they may not have survived this fire."

The six people were taken to hospital for smoke inhalation and were later released.

Anybody with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.