A fire that engulfed two multi-storey buildings in central Sydney has been contained although firefighters are expected to be battling it through much of the night.
Helicopter footage showed all floors of a building near Central Station and Elizabeth Street in Surry Hills well alight on Thursday afternoon.
Fire crews were spraying the building from the street and from aerial ladders.
More than 100 Fire and Rescue NSW firefighters, from 20 fire trucks and multiple stations, were working to contain and extinguish the blaze. It was a “10th alarm” fire, the “most severe type of fire”.
The building was starting to collapse during the afternoon, while the inferno began to spread to several neighbouring buildings, including residential apartments.
At least one vehicle in the vicinity was destroyed by fire.
Fire and Rescue NSW said the fire was contained shortly before 7pm, by which time it had destroyed two buildings.
“Using specialist appliances and equipment, including ladder trucks and RPAS (drones), they successfully stopped the blaze from engulfing other nearby buildings, including residential apartments,” it said in a statement.
“Firefighting operations are expected to continue throughout the night, with crews to be rotated through to ensure their safety and wellbeing. An exclusion zone remains in place with the public urged to avoid the area.”
A dark plume of smoke was visible across the central city through the afternoon.
Multiple Triple Zero calls were received when flames started engulfing the seven-storey building on Randle Street just after 4pm.
Sydney Trains are currently unaffected by the fire.