Yahoo Finance Inside building’s destruction after inferno
Demolition vehicles have rolled in to finish off a building that was gutted by an inferno in Sydney’s CBD.
An exclusion zone remains in place at Randle Street in Surry Hills as demolition works on Tuesday began to bring down the building after it last Thursday’s wild blaze destroyed it.
The last walls standing have begun to be torn down, sometimes brick by brick, as workers used an excavator to slowly push down the remaining walls.
Pictures from the scene show the moment one of the major walls finally came down.
Ripping the building down is far from the only work needed to make the site safe, with a bobcat also brought in to clear mountains of bricks and debris from the streets.
Meanwhile firefighters began smashing windows in surrounding buildings, ahead of further demolition.
Earlier on Tuesday a fourth person came forward to police over the fire, as emergency services recruit cadaver dogs in their search for any remaining missing persons.
A police spokesperson confirmed a fourth young person had identified themselves to police following three others earlier this week but said the underage individual would not be assisting police in their investigation.
“Last night we received advice from a fourth young person’s legal representative that they will not be providing a version by way of interview or statement,” a NSW Police spokesperson said.
“Available evidence will now be assessed in relation to further action.”
Two 13-year-olds came forward in the days after the blaze, with a third person – aged 12 – coming forward on Saturday.
None of the young people spoken to by police have been charged and have all been let go pending the police investigation.
NSW Police Superintendent Gordon Arbinja told Nine News that investigators would not divulge what information the young people had provided.
“At this stage, we‘re not going to reveal what they’ve actually said,” Superintendent Arbinja said.
“We’ll go through the whole investigation and then we’ll work out what the best and most appropriate measure is to solve this matter.”
The revelation comes as police and emergency services continue their search for two homeless people unaccounted for after the blaze.
Police confirmed on Monday they believed as many as 15 homeless people were known to frequent the vacant building.
Rescue crews will now use cadaver dogs and forensic imaging to search sections of the rubble once the building is demolished.
An exclusion zone remains in place, with small bobcats on site to remove debris ahead of a wider clean-up.
There is no timeline on how long works will take, with demolition machinery brought in on Monday ahead of works on Tuesday.
When the site is rendered safe, NSW Police claim a significant amount of work will still need to be undertaken on impacted residential buildings before they can be reoccupied.
So far, at least 100 people have registered as being displaced by the inferno, with many provided alternative accommodation through welfare services while others have sought other accommodation.
Residents of at least two neighbouring buildings have been unable to retrieve belongings as NSW Police continue to escort other homeowners into nearby buildings during daylight hours to retrieve items.
Many roads around the busy Sydney CBD area also continue to be impacted, with bus routes being changed and stops diverted to other areas surrounding the Surry Hills area.
