Sydney fire: Cadaver-detection dogs seeking bodies are called in as Surry Hills building demolished

Cadaver dogs – used to find human remains – will be deployed to search the rubble of an abandoned hat factory in Sydney, which is about to be demolished after a once-in-a-decade fire.

Specialized heavy machinery is on site and will begin demolishing the remains of the seven-story 1910s brick building in downtown Surry Hills Tuesday morning.

Police are not ruling out the possibility of bodies being found in the rubble of the listed building, but the site must be made safe before it can be thoroughly inspected and residents in adjacent buildings can return home.

NSW Fire and Rescue Superintendent Adam Dewberry says a 60-tonne long-reach excavator arrived before dawn on Tuesday for the tricky operation to ensure the job is completed safely.

“It can reach about 23 meters, so that’s the distance it can stay away from the building,” he told Sydney radio station 2GB.

Police are not ruling out bodies being found in the rubble of the landmark building (pictured), but the site must be made safe before it can be thoroughly inspected

“We want to make sure everyone stays safe, but we also don’t want to cause damage to neighboring buildings and facilities that are in and around and under the road,” he said.

“We’ve got gas pipes underneath, we’ve got electricity and water, so we just have to make sure we don’t cause any more problems.”

The site will be handed over to the police so that investigators from the arson squad and cadaver sniffer dogs can examine the site while the debris is removed.

“While police have not received any missing persons reports, investigators cannot definitively say no one is inside,” police said in a statement Monday.

The brick and wood building and an adjoining building that used to house Ding Dong Dang karaoke bar were known to regularly host 15 sleepers. Thirteen of them were contacted by the police on Friday.

There are calls for authorities to search other vacant buildings in the CBD.

Business Sydney Executive Director Paul Nicolao has written to Prime Minister Chris Minns and Sydney Mayor Clover Moore requesting an audit.

More than 100 people living in the area have been registered as displaced following Thursday’s fire in Surry Hills (pictured)

“It is unsatisfactory and potentially unsafe for buildings to be left empty and unsafe at risk of being used by squatters and others who shouldn’t be there,” he said.

A police spokesperson confirmed that a fourth youth had come forward earlier this week after three others, but said the minor would not assist police in their investigation.

“Last night we were advised by the legal representative of a fourth young person that they will not be providing a version by interview or statement,” a spokesman for NSW Police said.

“Available evidence is now being assessed in relation to further action.”

Two 13-year-olds came forward in the days following the fire, and a third person – 12 years old – came forward on Saturday.

None of the youths spoken to by police have been charged and all have been released pending police inquiries.

“At this stage, we are not going to reveal what they actually said,” said Chief Inspector Arbinja.

“We will go through the entire investigation and then see what the best and most appropriate measure is to solve this case.”

Welfare services will continue to inform and inform displaced residents.

The brick hat factory was built in 1912 and operated until 1954 when owner R. C. Henderson went bankrupt.

The property was later leased to individual tenants in the 1960s and 1970s, and there were plans to use the brick structure in a $40 million redevelopment of the site into a 123-room hotel.