Dangerous Fire Rips Through Balmain Leagues Club In West-Sydney
Vacant building erupts
Daily Telegraph
Fire and Rescue NSW responded to calls of a blaze at the old Balmain Leagues Club in Sydney's inner-west suburbs on Saturday afternoon.
Around 4pm, a fire broke on Victoria Road at Rozelle - which halted westbound traffic in the area.
Fire ripped through the abandoned building and sent smoke rippling through the air, erupting at 4.40pm on Saturday.
A Fire and Rescue NSW spokesperson said just after 6pm the fire was contained, with no injuries to report.
"We received numerous triple 0 calls about the old site at Balmain League Club and rushed to the scene quickly," he said.
"We found the front facade of the old club well alight with an incredible amount of smoke and flames issuing out of the building."
The Balmains League Club has been vacant for 12 years, becoming an attraction for graffiti artists, plans have been discussed to redevelop the site on numerous occasions.
Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne urged locals to avoid the area, which could cause some lasting ventilation issues.
"There’s a large and dangerous fire at the Balmain Leagues Club site. Please stay away from there to allow the fire fighters to do their job safely," Byrne said.
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