A massive fire has engulfed a multi-storey building in Sydney’s city centre, sending plumes of smoke and flames across the city skyline More than 100 firefighters and 20 trucks have been sent to central Sydney, after a multi-storey building caught fire and the flames began spreading to neighbouring towers this afternoon. Several nearby buildings in Surry Hills were evacuated as the massive blaze took hold inside a heritage-listed former hat factory, on Randle Street. To leave a comment on the blog, please log in or sign up for an ABC account. People have told reporters about how the ground shook when parts of the burning building started to collapse. “A huge flume of smoke came up and that whole wall just caved in,” witness Grace Turner said. Korin Ellis said he came up from central station in time to see the building collapse. “All you could feel when you were standing there was heat on your face from the flames. You could hear tyres exploding,” he said. I was training for soccer at moore park west when the fire started. We saw the smoke rise up and helicopters and a police car drove across the field. We walked to take the tram to see them cancelled so we continued to central to see the fire. There was ash falling from the sky and the fire was bright red. The fire took hold quickly in a seven-storey building on Randle Street in Surry Hills shortly after four this afternoon. The fire has destroyed the building with parts of the walls falling onto nearby cars adjacent to central railway. do we have any idea as to what floor this started on or what started the blaze? That remains unclear at the moment but it will be part of the investigation once the site is deemed safe. Corrin Ellis was on his way to catch a tram when he saw the tower engulfed. “All you could feel when standing here was heat on your face from the flames,” Mr Ellis said. “And when they started to move us back, a car just in front of the building caught fire. “The front of the building collapsed and flames just spewed from the top of the building.” Bystander Chiara told ABC News Channel she was at the nearby TAFE when she saw the fire. “The flames were about the size of this hospital here. 10 minutes late the wall just collapsed. It got pretty wild,” she said. “I was very nervous. I was pretty scared when I seen the wall fall. I was going to get out of here. Witness Natalie Parpaiola was walking to Central Station when she saw a small flame out of one window just after 4pm. “It was only very, very small… and within 12 minutes the entire building was engulfed. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life,” she told ABC Radio Sydney. We understand it’s a seven-storey building in Surry Hills. The vision is absolutely distressing, we know that some of the walls have fallen, we can see that some of the windows have exploded and I think what’s taken us all by surprise is just how noisy this has been. There have been several explosions directly across the road from Central Station and light rail stop, surrounded by thousands of people. The fire has totally engulfed the inside of the building. We understand that bricks have fallen onto nearby cars and there have been small spot fires that have gone onto nearby balconies that crews are trying to put out. Police have said it’s unclear if this building is vacant or not, at this stage that’s incredibly distressing. Firefighters are attacking it from two directions, from Chalmers Street and from one of the streets a behind. A number of local streets have been closed due to this serious fire – motorists are advised to avoid the area completely.Other road closures include:• Elizabeth St closed southbound from Foveaux St. Fire and Rescue NSW Superintendent Adam Dewberry said the fire began on level three of the building. “We got the fire on the third level of what we believe is a seven-level block we have people evacuating and firefighters entering this building to fight this fire,” he said. Police are investigating whether the building where the fire started, the former RC Henderson hat factory, was occupied. There are major road closures in the area around Randle Street, as firefighters attempt to douse the flames. Transport authorities say buses are being diverted in the Surry Hills area due to the fire. The light rail has also been halted. The building, which is seven storeys high, was set to be turned into a hotel, according to a development application lodged with the City of Sydney by developer Hanave Pty Ltd. “The flames were about the size of this hospital here. Ten minutes later the wall just collapsed. It got pretty wild,” she said. “I was very nervous. I was pretty scared when I seen the wall fall. I was going to get out of here. “All you could feel when standing here was heat on your face from the flames,” Mr Ellis said. “And when they started to move us back, a car just in front of the building caught fire.” “The front of the building collapsed and flames just spewed from the top of the building.” We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work. 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