More than 100 firefighters battled towering flames and thick smoke from a seven-storey blaze in central Sydney on 25 May. Photo: MICHAEL GOODE / AFP
Two teenagers are assisting police with their enquiries after a major blaze destroyed a seven-storey heritage-listed building in Sydney's inner city.
The more-than-a-century-old former Henderson Hat factory on Randle Street, Surry Hills, was gutted by fire just after 4pm on Thursday.
At a press conference on Friday, NSW Police Acting Assistant Commissioner Paul Dunstan said a group of young people were seen running from the scene.
He said two 13-year-olds had handed themselves into two separate police stations last night, and are assisting with inquiries into the incident.
Police are aware of three or four other young people who were present, and are urging them to come forward with their parents.
"The two people we have spoken to are 13 years of age, we believe the other people are of a similar age,"
Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) Acting Commissioner Jeremy Fewtrell described the blaze as a "once-in-a-decade type of fire".
He said for all the firefighters who attended it was a "really defining point" in their careers.
"The one thing I can guarantee at the end of their careers, this is one of the highlights they will reflect upon."
Fire crews worked through the night to mop up "the extremely intense fire" while some of the walls posed a significant threat of falling down, FRNSW Superintendent Adam Dewberry said.
Photo: AFP / Twitter account @grantozolins / Grant Ozolins
Pockets of smouldering fire remained but were under control.
"[It was] a rapidly escalating fire, very intense, an abandoned building, old timbers, dried out timbers, and in some reports, rotted out, which all contributed to the significant intensity and spread of this fire," he said.
Up to 15 people were sleeping rough inside the heritage-listed building the night before, but police believe they are all accounted for and safe.
Some nearby residential buildings were initially under threat due to spot fires at the height of the blaze and have been affected by radiant heat damage.
"Windows have started falling out of buildings across the road, and that's a danger in itself," Superintendent Dewberry said.
"We've still got a problem with two walls that are in precarious positions, and that could come down without notice, bringing tonnes and tonnes of bricks down and causing projectiles."
All residents were evacuated safely and forced to find alternative accommodation while fire crews carried out risk assessments on the structural integrity of neighbouring apartment blocks.
Firefighters were also able to retrieve a wedding dress for a bride-to-be who lived in one of the nearby buildings.
- ABC
