A massive fire in a multi-storey building in central Sydney is now under control, but firefighters say it will take some time to extinguish and they will be there overnight and into tomorrow morning.
A fire has engulfed a building in downtown Sydney. Photo: Screenshot / ABC
More than 120 firefighters and 30 trucks were sent to the fire after the flames began spreading to neighbouring towers this afternoon.
Several nearby buildings in Surry Hills were evacuated as the massive blaze took hold inside a heritage-listed former hat factory, on Randle Street about 4pm.
People began screaming as bricks and large chunks of wall began crashing to the ground.
A parked car was also torched.
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.
As the blaze raged, parts of the building could be seen collapsing.
At a later media conference, a NSW Fire spokesman said that the fire had been contained and firefighters had extinguished flames which had spread to some of the surrounding apartment buildings which had been evacuated.
Despite the fact the fire had been contained it would take some time to extinguish it and firefighters expected to be at the site all night and into Friday morning, he said.
The fire developed very quickly from initial reports to fully developed buildings and because it was a CBD location firefighters had worked hard to ensure the fire did not spread to nearby buildings, he said.
Only one firefighter received minor injuries and there are no reports of members of the public having been injured.
Police said nearby buildings in Surry Hills were evacuated and there were major road closures in the area around Randle Street, as firefighters attempted to douse the flames.
People in the area screamed as walls began falling off the building.
Transport authorities said buses were diverted in the Surry Hills area due to the fire. The light rail was 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.
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."
Korin 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," 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."
Another bystander said he was on the phone at Central station when he saw smoke.
He said the man standing near him called triple-0.
"The craziest thing was seeing the building collapse. It was pretty terrifying," he said.
"From the first crack, I was looking and seeing if it was going to fall into the building or damage the building next to it."
Flames and smoke billowed out of the top of the building and out the windows.
All of a sudden one wall of the building collapsed, with bricks sent flying onto Chalmers Street and screams erupting from the gathered crowd.
"A huge plume of smoke came up and that whole wall just caved in," witness Grace Turner said.
"It was the loudest noise. The ground shook."
- ABC