Investigators examining the cause of a huge blaze that engulfed two multi-storey buildings in Sydney’s CBD are appealing for video footage of the area in the lead-up to the fire.
Police have launched Strike Force Strontium to investigate the circumstances surrounding Thursday’s fire, one of the largest seen in central Sydney for about a decade.
They have been joined by Fire and Rescue NSW’s fire investigation and research unit.
Arson unit detectives want anyone with vision, either CCTV, dash-cam, or mobile phone, showing activity on Randle St between 2.45pm and 4pm on Thursday to contact them.
Business owners or managers whose property is within the exclusion zone and who believe they have CCTV should contact Surry Hills Police Station.
Demolition crews joined investigators on Saturday to assess the badly damaged remains of the Surry Hills buildings to determine how to safely bring them down.
Police say the structure is still too unstable to enter, with drones and laser-measuring tools used to find still smouldering pockets within the damaged pile of rubble.
An exclusion zone is expected to be in place for several more days.
There are concerns about the stability of the charred remains, with the wall of one of the buildings moving 70mm overnight on Friday.
Acting zone commander Grant Rice from NSW Fire and Rescue told reporters on Saturday the movement of the wall was inwards, lessening the potential for more debris to fall to the streets below.
“We’re just keeping an eye on that at the moment. As a positive, it will not come back down on the street, but we are monitoring it continuously,” he said.
Nearby residents were ordered to evacuate late on Thursday afternoon as the blaze quickly took hold of the empty buildings near Central Station, with fireballs ripping into the sky, sending red hot bricks flying.
Commander Rice said on Saturday fire crews and investigators are now working with demolition experts to determine how and when they can safely demolish the remains.
“We are working with demolition companies and working with other services and don’t have a time-frame as yet.”
He said it would likely be a few days before the work could be completed and residents could return to their nearby homes.
“Our priority is actually getting everything back to normal around the area, and we will do the best we can.”
At least 100 people living in the area have registered as being displaced since the inferno at the former hat factory lit up the sky, closing streets and public transport.
Police are also appealing for anyone who witnessed suspicious activity in the vicinity of Randle St in the lead-up to the fire to make contact.
Teenagers spotted running from the building shortly after the blaze started handed themselves in on Thursday, with officers hoping three or four more teens present to police.
Strike force detectives can confirm that three boys, one aged 12 and two aged 13, who were in the building at the time the fire started are assisting with inquiries.