Sydney: spectacular fire in the center of Sydney

More than 100 firefighters are battling a spectacular blaze in central Sydney on Thursday, which completely tore through a seven-storey building and threatened nearby apartment buildings

Sydney: spectacular fire in the center of Sydney

More than 100 firefighters are battling a spectacular blaze in central Sydney on Thursday, which completely tore through a seven-storey building and threatened nearby apartment buildings.

After two hours of effort, the firefighters were on the way to controlling the disaster which broke out in an unoccupied building located near the central station.

At the height of the fire, flames almost as high as the building rose into the sky, accompanied by thick smoke.

The wall of the top floor of the building crashed to the ground, not far from a charred van, according to a video shared by the emergency services.

"More than 100 firefighters, aboard 20 trucks and from multiple barracks, are continuing their work to put out the fire," the emergency services said in a statement released after dark.

Two neighboring buildings, a priori vacant, were also affected by the disaster, added the firefighters.

"Our crews also extinguished smaller outbreaks that threatened to spread to surrounding buildings, including apartment buildings."

The emergency response is expected to continue late into the night, they said.

Apart from a firefighter slightly injured in the intervention, the emergency services did not report any injuries among the population, who had been "asked to avoid the area while firefighting operations continue".

According to local media, the building destroyed by the flames was a listed building, a former hat factory.

05/25/2023 11:45:14 -        Sydney (AFP) -         © 2023 AFP