Man arrested after Bankstown office destroyed in fire

Police were tipped off after a fire burned an office building in Sydney overnight and arrested a man after an early-morning doorknock.

A man has been arrested after a Bankstown office building was destroyed in a fire overnight.

Police and firefighters were called to Bankstown City Plaza in Sydney’s southwest around 3.30am on Thursday by witnesses who noticed an office building was burning.

Firefighters battled the first-floor blaze through the morning, but by 6.30am the office was considered lost.

Nearby businesses were damaged by smoke and water as well.

A man has been arrested after a Bankstown office building was destroyed in a fire overnight. Picture by Bill Hearne

Police, “acting on information provided”, grew suspicious of a 59-year-old man and visited him at a home in the nearby suburb of Yagoona at 4am, the force said in a statement to reporters.

He was arrested and taken to Bankstown police station, although it wasn’t clear on Thursday morning exactly what crime he is suspected of committing.

Emergency workers decided to shut down Bankstown City Plaza between North and South terraces.

Buses were being diverted, but trains were running as normal, police said.