Drone footage shows the aftermath of the Surry Hills fire.Credit:Fire and Rescue NSW
“It is not safe for firefighters to enter the structure to extinguish these fires,” the spokesman said.
“Firefighters remain on scene to ensure shouldering fires do not break out and take hold.”
The NSW Police arson squad is also on site to help with investigations.
More than 70 residents from nearby apartment buildings who evacuated on Thursday may not be able to return home for a week or more. Police have been told 15 people occupied the building the night before the fire and said they had yet to establish the identity of two of those people and account for their current whereabouts.
Inside the Surry Hills building before it was destroyed by fire.Credit:rleywn.2
One evacuee,Prasidhi Artono,said he has been staying in Airbnb properties nearby with his wife Anditia since the fire.
“We were working at our offices when the fire started and a friend of my wife’s sent her a video of a large fire,” Artono said. “It was quite scary seeing the footage and social media and we headed home straight away but weren’t allowed in ... We are waiting today for updates from the Red Cross.”
The couple were allowed to briefly enter their rental apartment,which is a few metres from the shell of the burned building,to gather some belongings on Saturday morning.
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Footage has emerged on social media showing people exploring the abandoned warehouse on Randle Street before it was gutted by fire. The videos show the walls inside the building covered in graffiti,and views of the Sydney skyline from the roof.
In one TikTok video,a person who claimed they had visited the site said it had “beautiful views of the city at the top and was very chill and nice to go to”.
However,the number of people visiting the site had increased recently due to the location being revealed on social media,the person claimed.
“When I first found a way in and showed my mates I was in there quite a bit and I never saw anybody else,but as it became more and more popular on TikTok I started bumping into more and more people,” the person said.
The blaze broke out at a row of vacant buildings on Randle Street near Central Station about 4pm on Thursday and was quickly escalated to a “10th alarm” status,the most severe type of fire.
Inside the Surry Hills building destroyed by fire.Credit:rleywn.2
Explosions could be heard as the blaze engulfed the site. A huge fireball rose moments before a major wall section exploded outwards,showering the street in bricks,concrete and other debris.
More than 100 firefighters attended and prevented the blaze from spreading to surrounding buildings.
Developer Hanave Pty Ltd had plans toturn the site into a $38 million,nine-storey hotel with 123 rooms,two restaurants,a bar and a cafe. Architect Tim Greer,from the firm that won a design competition for the complex,said construction was scheduled to start on it soon.
“The family who owned the building had a dream of turning it into a hotel,” Greer said. “All that thinking and incredibly hard work to get it to the point to hand over to the builders to work their magic.
“It’s all ended. It’s just gone.”
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