Hobart firemen in the thick of it. Photographs above by James Moult. See more of his dramatic photography in this gallery.
Myer Hobart in Liverpool Street, caught fire about 3.30pm today.
Within hours the whole complex was alight, sending towering thunderheads of smoke over the city.
The classic façade dating back to the mid 1800s made a stark outline against the huge flames that burned nonstop through the night.
Below, the sight that greeted Hobartians on a still Spring afternoon.
Followed by …
Even from a distance the flames could be seen leaping high. Photograph by Peter Whyte
Photographs by Allan Moult, except where otherwise credited.
More about the fire from The Mercury
Video of fire by James Moult:
And another:
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Having seen sprinklers in action when one was knocked by a surf board, I cannot understand how the sprinklers did not put the initial fire out.
I grew in the 1960s up only a block from the Myer Hobart store and walked through it countless times as part of getting about the city centre. I found the photographs of the store burning (so like the pictures of the London blitz) to be deeply disturbing. The CBD will never be the same for me.