Firefighters battle enormous blaze at factory in Sydney’s south-west

A massive fire has engulfed the head office and factory outlet of a Sydney furniture company, sending black smoke billowing into the sky and brick walls tumbling to the ground.

The industrial fire on Beresford Avenue at Greenacre took hold about 3pm on Tuesday, and while it had been contained by about 6pm, the fire is expected to smoulder for some time.

More than 60 firefighters battled the blaze, breaking into nearby businesses in a bid to stop the fire spreading.

Water supply had been a problem, Fire and Rescue NSW Superintendent Adam Dewberry said.

“One of the complexities of this particular operation was, not only the fuel loading, being the furniture and timber … was the difficulty in getting significant water up into the fire trucks.

“Fire and Rescue NSW had to … pump water from a distance in other streets off other big mains to get enough water on to the fire,” Dewberry said.

An exclusion zone was set up by NSW Police, who urged people to avoid the area. Residents and workers nearby were advised to close doors and windows.

It’s not yet known what sparked the blaze. No injuries have been reported and there are no people unaccounted for.

The premises are occupied by the Sapphire Wood Furniture head office, factory and clearance outlet, which had closed for the Christmas shutdown period this month.

The outlet houses ex-display items, discontinued lines and sample designs.

It also has stores at Auburn, Castle Hill and Canberra.

Sapphire Wood Furniture director Peter Chen was on the scene when contacted by the Herald on Tuesday afternoon but requested more time before speaking on the fire.

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