Fire shuts down Sydney CBD streets

SYDNEY - About 100 firefighters are battling a fire in a disused building that has shut down part of Sydney's central business district, local media reported Wednesday.

The fire broke out in a semi demolished building's electrical substation on Bathurst Street in Sydney city center just before 10 am local time Wednesday.

New South Wales Fire Brigades Commissioner Greg Mullins said the blaze had been contained.

"If the situation deteriorates we will evacuate the area but the decision's been made there's no need at this stage," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

He said it was a very dangerous fire.

"We've got lots of crews rotating through there. We've taken a decision that they can only do one rotation because of the heat," he said.

"There are some concerns about asbestos because it's an old building so once they've been through, we take the uniforms away, we decontaminate."

He said the 18-level building was under demolition and all workers inside the building had been accounted for.

The cause of the fire is still unknown.

The roads and maritime authority said Bathurst Street is closed between George and Pitt streets and there are closures on Castlereagh and Pitt streets.