A fire has gutted a former hat factory in central Sydney. Photo: AAP
Police and investigators from Fire and Rescue NSW will comb the wreckage of a former hat factory and another empty building that were engulfed in flames in the Sydney CBD.
It came as authorities said they feared the danger was not over, even though the fire was finally extinguished about 2am on Friday.
Crews were called to the heritage-listed building in Randle Street in Surry Hills on Thursday afternoon to find the two multistorey buildings completely alight.
Police arrived shortly afterwards to cordon off the scene, with nearby streets closed and the eastern suburbs light rail line shut down.
Nearby residents were ordered to evacuate, as the fire sent plumes of toxic smoke into the sky.
The only reported injury from the fire was a minor burn suffered by a firefighter.
There was minor damage to nearby buildings, mainly from the extreme heat.
The fire was described on Thursday by Fire and Rescue NSW Acting Commissioner Jeremy Fewtrell as one of the largest in Sydney for years.
He said it was “incredibly lucky” no one was badly hurt in the extremely dangerous conditions. One firefighter suffered a minor arm burn.
In all, 120 firefighters attended the fire, with it declared mostly contained by around 7pm.
Fire investigators were on the scene to try to determine the cause of the blaze. Police will also investigate.
Fire and Rescue NSW Superintendent Adam Dewberry said there was a “very good chance” further walls could collapse in the burned out building.
“We are talking about tonnes and tonnes of bricks that could come down and become projectiles,” Mr Dewberry told Nine’s Today Show on Friday.
“That is why we have such a tight exclusion zone, not allowing anyone in, including firefighters, until we get the engineers in.”
Diversions remained in place along Elizabeth, Randle, and Chalmers streets in the CBD on Friday.
Residents praised for quick response.
On Thursday afternoon, the factory’s roof collapsed as it burned. It was followed by the the floors, before parts of the building’s walls fell down shortly before 5pm, sending red hot bricks tumbling to the streets.
A ute parked beside the building was also lost in the fire.
Mr Fewtrell praised residents of nearby apartments and other buildings for evacuating promptly when multiple fire alarms went off.
“There were some fires that spread into the apartment buildings … firefighters were able to extinguish those and prevent them further penetrating into the buildings and causing significant damage.”
Mr Fewtrell said it was believed the two buildings involved in the blaze were vacant.
“It was an incredibly intense fire and the age of the building, the type of construction with lots of timber frames and floors, and obviously with that very well-seasoned and dry timber.
He said firefighters still had a lot of work to do. That would continue into Friday as fire and police investigators tried to determine the cause of the blaze.
The fire closed nearby streets and forced buses to be rerouted, as well as shutting down the nearby light rail, affecting travel for thousands of commuters.
There were plans to turn the former hat factory in Randle Street into a 114-room “Hat Hotel”, the Daily Telegraph reported.
-with AAP