By Sarah Keoghan and Angus Thomson
Firefighters and police are working to determine the cause of a major building fire that brought Sydney’s inner city to a standstill on Thursday afternoon.
More than 100 firefighters worked to contain the fire, which broke out at the vacant building on 11 Randle Street near Central Station about 4pm. The fire was given a “10th alarm” status, the most severe type of fire.
Explosions could be heard as the blaze engulfed the site. A huge fireball could be seen just moments before a major wall section exploded outwards, showering the street in bricks, concrete and other debris.
As the firefighting effort unfolded, helicopter footage showed fire crews spraying a building across the road, which appeared to be smouldering, and extinguishing patio furniture which had become engulfed in flames on another adjacent rooftop.
The building next door was also hit with debris during an initial collapse early in the afternoon.
Residents in surrounding buildings were evacuated as the fire spread.
Bystanders on the balcony of a nearby pub cheered as a cat was carried out in the arms of police and given to its owners, while other emotional residents were seen carrying dogs wrapped in blankets.
Ibtisam Mahmoud, who works at a dental clinic across the road from the blaze, said a patient walked in around 4pm and said there was a fire in the building.
“He actually wanted to jump in ... to help anybody who was inside,” she said. “When I came out while I was watching it, it was actually turned into a big fire and I watched the whole building go up.”
Michelle Slater could smell “toxic” smoke when she got off the train at Central Station, before looking up to see the building going up in flames. Bystanders watched the fire from Randle Street before police arrived to cordon off the area “within five minutes”, she said.
Firefighters, police and emergency services respond to a large building fire on Randle Street, Surry Hills.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos
“We could hear these snaps and bang and explosions ... and all of these building materials came crashing down onto the ground,” she said. “These people in an apartment block next door were popping their heads out to find out what was going on, and we were screaming at them [to] get out.”
On Thursday night Deputy Commissioner Jeremy Fewtrell said the blaze was effectively contained to the two buildings involved. Firefighters had extinguished some small fires which spread to surrounding apartment buildings. He expected crews to be working to extinguish the blaze through the night and into the morning.
Fewtrell said one firefighter sustained a minor burn to his arm but no one else was injured by the initial fire or the building’s collapse.
“It’s incredibly lucky, and I think it’s a good reflection on the response to the community to making sure that the people in surrounding buildings responded,” he said. “I’ve seen similar size fires, but it’s certainly a very significant fire, and what’s of note was how quickly it developed.”
At least 30 fire crews and more than 120 firefighters were on the scene.
Transport NSW said Central Station was still operating as normal, but L2 and L3 light rail services from Chalmers Street have been cancelled. Multiple streets were closed to the public from Thursday afternoon.
Elizabeth Street is closed near Eddy Avenue and police are directing traffic.
The Transport Management Centre has advised motorists to avoid the area and to follow directions of emergency services.
Chalmers Street and Randle Street are closed between Cleveland and Elizabeth streets, while Elizabeth Street is closed southbound at Foveaux Street. Traffic is also being diverted off Cleveland Street. Other local roads are also closed in the area.
L2 and L3 light rail services are not running between Moore Park and Circular Quay.
“Passengers can consider catching trains or local bus services instead, however some buses are diverting due to the road closures,” the management centre said in a statement.
The rental history of the building currently describes the property as a “commercial office space”.
In 2020, a large portion of the building was advertised by the office space rental agency Office Hub.
The agency described the property as a “buzzing coworking hub” nestled in a heritage-listed building that had “excellent photo studio facilities”. Office Hub declined to comment on the fire.
In 2021, Robinson Urban Planning for the developer Hanave successfully gained approval from the City of Sydney to build a hotel on the site with 123 rooms, two restaurants, a small bar and cafe.
According to Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects, the building was abandoned as it was being developed into a hotel. Its website states it used to be a Henderson Hat manufacturing warehouse.
Michael, who did not give his last name, was in bed in his apartment that overlooks 11 Randle Street, when he started to smell something metallic burning and heard his building’s evacuation alarm ring at 4.15pm.
He looked over his balcony to see orange flickering lights which he initially thought was from construction.
Michael went out onto the street and saw the building alight.
“It looked like a movie,” he said, adding that he was hoping no one was injured.
Michael added he had spent the last hour at the pub, before asking his friend to pick him up. He’s given up hope on returning home this evening.
With Laura Chung
Our Breaking News Alert will notify you of significant breaking news when it happens. Get it here.