Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au
Burnt Sydney apartment block a crime scene
Police are investigating whether a blaze at a partially built high-rise building in Sydney’s southwest was deliberately lit.
September 8, 2017
A high-rise apartment complex damaged by fire in Sydney’s southwest remains a crime scene as police investigate whether the blaze was deliberately lit.
More than 70 firefighters battled the inferno, which broke out on the 16th floor in Liverpool just before 8.30pm on Thursday, bringing it under control just after midnight.
The luxury complex, called the Paper Mill, was due to be completed early next year, says the developer Coronation Property.
The 200 units, priced from $465,000 to $1.2 million, were close to being sold out.
A Coronation Property spokesman told AAP it was unclear if structural damage had occurred in the fire and engineers would need to inspect the building when police finished investigating.
He said while the blaze looked dramatic due to the height of the building, it was only wood used to form concrete walls that went up in flames.
“There is no cladding or anything like that,” he said on Friday.
“I imagine the structural integrity is all still good.
“I think we will find it looked worse than it really was.”
He said the fire was unlikely to delay the project and apartment buyers would be contacted when police finished investigating, but this was unlikely to happen until next week.
No one was injured in the fire and police are investigating what sparked the blaze, which they believe may have been deliberately lit.