Sydney church goes up in flames

THREE firefighters were injured battling a ferocious blaze that gutted an orthodox church only hours after hosting their midnight mass Easter celebrations last night.

The fire engulfed the Macedonian Orthodox Church of the Resurrection on Frederick Street, Rockdale about 10pm.

Dozens of firefighters worked to contain flames that burst through the roof of the building and forced the evacuation of a nearby retirement home.

Officers were lucky to escape serious injury when they were struck by falling bricks after a sudden wall collapse caught authorities by surprise while smoke blanketed nearby streets.

Just hours earlier the building had been hosting one of the biggest events on the Christian Orthodox calendar as distraught church patrons watched the dramatic events unfold from the street.

“I came from Bexley when I heard. We were all celebrating midnight mass in there last night. This is not a good time,” one visibly distressed man said.

Long time resident Kevin Hay was in his room when he saw flames from his bedroom windows and did not even have time to grab his shoes before emergency services cleared the building.

“My windows face the church so I could see the flames from my room,” he said.

“There was smoke coming through the building when the alarm went off.

“We didn’t have a chance to grab anything and we could see flames coming onto the street when we came out.”

Mr Hay said many of the residents were regular patrons of the church and would be hit hard by the disaster.

“It’s such a shame, it was a beautiful old church.”

SW Fire Commissioner Greg Mullins said crews were surprised by how quickly the structure collapsed.

“Bricks from a collapsing wall hit two of them, one was hit on the air cylinder and knocked to the ground, he was dragged out by colleagues,” he said.

“Another was struck all down one side on the shoulder, chest and leg.”

A third firefighter suffered minor injuries and was not transported to hospital.

Two elderly resident were also taken to hospital suffering chest pains.

Commissioner Mullins praised the quick actions of the 60 fire fighters who put their lives on the line to stop the fierce blaze from spreading.

“They were surprised by the intensity of the fire and the very quick collapse. We’re very lucky only three fire fighters were injured.”

Several roads in the area were closed to traffic and diversions put in place.

Frederick Street was closed in both directions with a 100m exclusion zone surrounding the incident.

Investigators will attempt to enter the building later today to determine whether the fire was suspicious.