The walls of the Surry Hills structure damaged by a “once-in-a-decade” fire moved more than seven millimetres overnight, indicating that the building is still very unstable.
On Thursday afternoon, as more than 100 firefighters battled the blaze, the 110-year-old heritage structure on Randle Street, close to Central Train Station in Sydney’s CBD, caught fire.
On Saturday, NSW Fire and Rescue discovered that one of the exterior walls had moved overnight, necessitating the continuation of the exclusion zone.
According to a statement from NSWFR, “One external wall has moved 70mm overnight reinforcing the commitment to maintain the current exclusion zones for community safety.”
“Light is still smouldering from deep within the debris.
“Firefighters cannot safely enter the building to put out these fires.
To prevent shouldering fires from starting and spreading, FRNSW firemen are still on the site.
To protect residents in the neighbourhood, specialists are still on the ground in Surry Hills keeping an eye on the shaky walls using drones and laser measurement devices.
While the southbound lanes on Elizabeth Street were reopened on Friday night, the remaining exclusion zone comprises Randle Street and the surrounding streets and buildings.
All four walls were unsteady, but the front and rear walls were the worst, putting the buildings behind the structure in danger, according to NSWFR Superintendent Adam Dewberry, speaking to Sky News Australia on Saturday morning.
He told reporter Gabriella Power, “It’s completely unsafe; the wall moved 7 centimetres overnight, and we just heard the alarm go off for more movement.
We have a basement-level fire that is deeply entrenched in the middle of the building. Although the fire is contained and isn’t moving, our drone used infrared technology to detect it. However, it could flare up again, which is why our fire engines are staying on the site.
“Restoring this community’s ability to function as it did before the catastrophe is the top goal. To make this building safe and have the surrounding cleaned up, we are collaborating with the police and all other government authorities, but it is a massive job and we have to do it safely.
On Thursday afternoon, more than 120 firefighters and 30 fire vehicles from several Sydney stations went to the Randle Street location and were successful in putting out the fire.
Although at least 50 surrounding residents have been forced to relocate, Superintendent Dewberry claimed that there was still a great deal of heat present beneath the debris.
We know that severe heat is still deeply buried in the wreckage and the ruins, so we are standing by, he added, adding that things are currently quite stable.
“Until we have access, full demolition of the building won’t be safe or possible,” the fire will not be completely extinguished.
To organise the ongoing response and secure demolition of the damaged structure, an Emergency Operations Centre under the direction of the police has been deployed.
With the aid of FRNSW’s Fire Investigation and Research Unit, the NSW Police Arson Squad is carrying out additional inquiries into the fire.
Two significant portions of the building’s walls collapsed onto the street during the conflagration, and the structure was assessed to be extremely unstable. A sizable exclusion zone was set up.
footage captured astonished people watching from a distance as several metres of the wall fell onto the road and automobiles below.
At least 15 homeless people had been sleeping within the structure, which was slated to become a new $40 million hotel but had instead become a popular destination for young people to explore.
On Thursday night, two 13-year-old boys turned themselves into two different Sydney police stations and have since assisted investigators.
Police have urged “three or four” other young kids who were in the building when the fire started to come forward and tell their side of the story alongside their parents.
