Fifty firefighters needed to extinguish multistorey blaze in Rundle Mall, which has been declared not suspicious
The cause of a fire at a historic Rundle Mall building on Saturday night is not being treated as suspicious, but the origin of the fire has yet to be determined.
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The cause of a fire which gutted a historic building and forced hundreds of people to evacuate Rundle Mall on Saturday night is undetermined, but the damage bill has been set at half-a-million dollars.
The blaze, which required 50 firefighters to bring under control, also forced the cancellation of some nearby Fringe shows.
The whole of Rundle Mall was shut down on just the second official night of Adelaide’s biggest annual party.
Fifty firefighters in 14 trucks attended the four-storey red brick heritage building, near Porter Lane and Pulteney St, as smoke billowed from the ground and first floors, and the roof.
Fire cause investigators and forensic officers are examining the cause of a fire which gutted a historic building in Rundle Mall last night. @theTiser pic.twitter.com/2pLmQJufvX
— Mitch Mott (@MitchMottTiser) February 15, 2020
An MFS spokeswoman said there was not believed to be anyone in the building at the time, but the area was busy with Fringe-goers.
Dozens of people called triple-0 just after 7.30pm.
The fire begun on the ground floor and spread to the first floor before it was extinguished.
Windows on the upper stories were broken by firefighters as they worked to contain the blaze.
On Sunday morning, police forensic personnel and MFS fire cause investigators begun the long task of examining the building for a cause of the fire.
While initially believing the fire was suspicious, police and MFS have now declared the fire not suspicious, but the cause remains undetermined.
A Boost Juice store front on the bottom floor sustained extensive damage, but neighbouring businesses and the upper floors of the historic building were only smoke damaged.
The MFS has calculated the damage caused by the fire at $500,000.
Initially, the mall was closed from Pulteney St to Gawler Place, but the smoke became so heavy that the whole mall was cleared for well over an hour.
The spokeswoman said a number of fire alarms in neighbouring buildings went off because of the smoke.
The Advertiser journalist Tom Bowden was enjoying a night out at the Fringe when he noticed smoke pouring from the building.
“A fair crowd gathered to watch,” Mr Bowden said.
“More than a dozen emergency services vehicles attended the scene.
“I could see smoke coming out of the building, but there was no sign of fire.”
Mr Bowden said a number of police officers were enforcing cordons around the building.
“There was a general scene of confusion,” he said.
“Traffic was blocked off between North Tce and Grenfell St.
“We could see firefighters smashing windows to gain entry into the building.”
A Fringe magic and illusion show, The Extraordinary Guests of Hotel Richmond, in Rundle Mall, had to cancel multiple performances as a result of the smoke.
Onlooker Ken Stringer of Parafield Gardens said it was a surprising interruption to the evening.
“This isn’t the sort of thing you expect to see on a Saturday night,” he said.
“I was just in the mall and all of a sudden there’s smoke and police are telling everyone to get back.
“I was talking to the police and apparently it’s all timber in there, with damage to three floors, but it’s a tricky situation because of the chemicals.
“It sounds like they’re treating it as asbestos.
“It’s a real shame to see because it’s a beautiful old building.”
MFS fire cause investigators on Sunday said that no asbestos had been discovered in the building.
The fire was extinguished by 9pm and the evacuation was lifted then, but the MFS advised that there may still be some smoke in the area.
The MFS and SAPOL will investigate the cause of the fire.