TWO teenagers surrendered themselves to the police after a huge fire engulfed a 7-storey heritage-listed building in Sydney.
A former hat factory that stood for more than a century found itself destroyed in a matter of minutes by a devastating fire described as a “once in a decade” inferno.
Built in 1912, the RC Henderson factory was the home of women’s felt hats in Australia for decades, selling women’s headwear nationwide and overseas.
Data from the New South Wales government’s State Heritage Inventory shows the company was a major manufacturer of ladies’ hats from 1905 into the 1950s.
As years go by, the abandoned building was slowly forgotten until a massive inferno that happened recently put it back in the spotlight.
About 100 firefighters joined hands to extinguish the inferno as the building went up in flames on Thursday afternoon.
According to authorities, the fire reached a “10th” alarm status on Thursday which is the highest and the most severe level.
At least 15 people were sleeping in the building at the time of the fire while 70 residents have been displaced from the surrounding buildings due to the blaze.
Meanwhile, 2 unnamed 13-year-old boys surrendered themselves to the police within 24 hours of the incident but authorities suspect more young people were involved.
Officers are currently investigating whether arson could be the reason behind the massive blaze.
