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Summary is AI-generated, newsdesk-reviewed
  • FRNSW tackles building collapse in Rockdale with 20 firefighters and six trucks.
  • Specialist teams use laser monitoring and drones to assess building stability.
  • Multi-agency effort underway to assess, stabilize collapsed building; community urged to avoid area.

Specialist Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews are at the scene of a partial building collapse at Rockdale, in Sydney's south.

Twenty firefighters, including Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) specialists, and six fire trucks responded to the incident in an industrial park on West Botany Street around 6:30 am.

Set up laser monitoring

Firefighters have set up laser monitoring equipment to detect possible further movement

A section of ground has subsided, causing a large two-level office block to sag in the middle and appear unstable. Approximately 20 people were evacuated from the area; however, no-one was inside the building at the time.

A multi-agency operation is now underway at the site. Firefighters have set up laser monitoring equipment to detect possible further movement in the affected building. 

Those assessments are also being assisted by FRNSW's Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), or drones.

how to shore up the building?

FRNSW experts are working with their colleagues across government and industry to assess the extent of the collapse and establish the cause. Engineers are also determining a plan on how to shore up the building.

An exclusion zone is currently in place and the community is urged to avoid the area; however, at this stage, all roads and public footpaths in the area remain open.

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