Authorities are investigating what sparked a massive fire inside a heritage-listed building in central Sydney on Thursday, after an afternoon of chaos.
More than 120 firefighters and 30 trucks were sent to Surry Hills about 4pm, where flames erupted from within the multi-storey building on Randle Street.
Several neighbouring towers were evacuated as firefighters battled the blaze which has gutted the former RC Henderson hat factory.
People began screaming as bricks and large chunks of walls started crashing to the ground.
Shortly before 6pm, NSW Fire and Rescue NSW Acting Commissioner Jeremy Fewtrell said the blaze had been contained and that there were no major injuries sustained.
He said while the flames had made their way into nearby buildings, firefighters had extinguished them.
"I'm pleased to report there has been no indications of any injuries to members of the public," he said.
"It will be a substantial and very prolonged duration of firefighting to extinguish the fire completely so I suspect that we will be here all night and into the morning."
Earlier, Fire and Rescue NSW Superintendent Adam Dewberry said the fire began on level three of the building.
"We got the fire on the third level of what we believe is a seven-level block we have people evacuating and firefighters entering this building to fight this fire," he said.
There are 20 fire trucks at the blaze in Randle Street, Surry Hills. (ABC News: Harriet Tatham) Parts of the building have started to collapse. (ABC News: Harriet Tatham)
There were major road closures in the area around Randle Street, as firefighters attempted to douse the flames.
Transport authorities said buses were diverted in the Surry Hills area due to the fire. The light rail has also been halted.
The building, which is seven storeys high, was set to be turned into a hotel, according to a development application lodged with the City of Sydney by developer Hanave Pty Ltd.
A member of the Henderson family, which built the factory in 1912, rang ABC Radio to share its history.
James Henderson’s aunt Elizabeth, the daughter of company founder Rolla Crosley Henderson, used to work there as a saleswoman.
“She’s totally beside herself, she’s in her mid-90s."
Bystander Chiara told the ABC she was at the nearby TAFE when she saw the fire.
"The flames were about the size of this hospital here. Ten minutes later the wall just collapsed. It got pretty wild," she said.
"I was very nervous. I was pretty scared when I seen the wall fall. I was going to get out of here.
"The smoke was very dark and it was really full on."
This ute was collateral damage as the blaze took hold. (Supplied: Fire and Rescue NSW)
Corrin Ellis was on his way to catch a tram when saw the tower ablaze.
"All you could feel when standing here was heat on your face from the flames," Mr Ellis said.
"And when they started to move us back, a car just in front of the building caught fire."
"The tires were exploding about 30 seconds after that."
"The front of the building collapsed and flames just spewed from the top of the building."
Look back at how ABC readers and other Australians responded to this live moment.
Live moment closed
Thanks to everyone for following along on a chaotic night in Sydney.
Here's a round up of some key developments:
A fire broke out in a heritage-listed building in Surry Hills about 4pm
120 firefighters and 30 trucks attended the three-alarm blaze
Only one firefighter received minor injuries
Parts of the building collapsed onto Randle Street below as fire tore through the property
The blaze was contained just before 6pm
NSW Police and Fire and Rescue NSW will investigate the cause of the fire
The site is a former hat factory for the RC Henderson company
We will be updating our stories on the fire as the night goes on.
Safe night all!
Is there any update on the state of the fire itself?
- M
Hopefully this answers your question.
And here is some footage taken by people who witnessed the events unfold today.
The Randle Street property is a heritage-listed site, which was formerly the RC Henderson hat factory.
It was set to be turned into a hotel, according to a development application lodged with the City of Sydney by developer Hanave.
A member of the Henderson family, which built the factory in 1912, rang ABC Radio to share a bit more about its history.
James Henderson’s aunt Elizabeth, the daughter of company founder Rolla Crosley Henderson, used to work there as a saleswoman.
He spoke to her this afternoon.
“She’s totally beside herself, she’s in her mid-90s.
“[The company] started in 1911 and they built the building in 1912 and it’s been there ever since up until now which is quite shocking.
“The story goes that it was the brother-in-law of RC Henderson that designed the building so it was all in the family.
“I used to always visit that location just to look at the building cause you could look up and you could still see the sign-writing ‘RC Henderson’ at the top of the building so it gave you the warm fuzzies as a Henderson but now it’s gone.”
Are trains running as normal?
- Kath
Just responding to your question, Kath.
Authorities say Central Station is running as normal.
But please keep this in mind.
Fire and Rescue NSW Acting Commissioner Jeremy Fewtrell said people living or working around the scene should keep their windows and doors closed.
"We ask people to try to stay out of the smoke and avoid it"
The cause of the fire is yet to be determined.
He said the heritage building with wooden fittings erupted quickly.
"It was an incredibly intense fire."
There's a press conference underway now.
The fire has been "effectively contained".
One firefighter received a "minor injury" in the form of a burn to his arm.
"The information we have at this stage is the buildings were vacant."
People have told reporters about how the ground shook when parts of the burning building started to collapse.
“A huge flume of smoke came up and that whole wall just caved in,” witness Grace Turner said.
“It was the loudest noise. The ground shook.”
Korin Ellis said he came up from central station in time to see the building collapse.
“All you could feel when you were standing there was heat on your face from the flames. You could hear tyres exploding,” he said.
“I saw a couple of people running and crying."
And here's testimony from one our readers:
Ethan
5:25:44 PM
I was training for soccer at moore park west when the fire started. We saw the smoke rise up and helicopters and a police car drove across the field. We walked to take the tram to see them cancelled so we continued to central to see the fire. There was ash falling from the sky and the fire was bright red.
There were more than 100 firefighters and 20 trucks battling to contain the fire.
Fire and Rescue NSW has just shared this footage:
Here was what Superintendent Adam Dewberry told us earlier:
The fire took hold quickly in a seven-storey building on Randle Street in Surry Hills shortly after four this afternoon.
The fire has destroyed the building with parts of the walls falling onto nearby cars adjacent to central railway.
Crews had to put out spot fires on nearby home unit balconies.
Police and ambulance crews also quickly responded to the escalating blaze.
These shots were snapped by AAP photographer Dean Lewins earlier this afternoon.
He captured the moment walls began to crash down onto the street.
Thanks to everyone for your comments and questions.
To answer a few of you, thankfully there are no reports of injuries so far.
A few of you have also been asking about this:
Will
5:17:34 PM
do we have any idea as to what floor this started on or what started the blaze?
That remains unclear at the moment but it will be part of the investigation once the site is deemed safe.
Wondering what this is? Join us next time we're live and be part of the discussion.
