Huge furniture factory fire in western Sydney threatens Rydalmere homes

A massive fire has ripped through a furniture factory and threatened to spread to nearby homes in western Sydney.

Firefighters rushed to the scene in Rydalmere around 10pm on Wednesday night and arrived to find the entire premises engulfed in flames and smoke. 

Terrified neighbours raised the alarm after being woken up by the sound of explosions.  

‘This woman started knocking on the back door, begging for help,’ a resident told Today show.

‘She started screaming saying to call the fire brigade. I heard a couple of explosions. A lot of glass breaking and the roof collapsing and stuff.’

‘Next thing you know it just started spreading around the back and also the front. It was actually crazy.’

Up to 100 firefighters worked into the night with large hose streams and aerial appliances battling to contain the fire and managed to protect surrounding buildings.

No one was inside the factory at the time, which has sustained extensive structural damage.

Fire and Rescue NSW Superintendent Adam Dewberry described the incident as a significant fire which required back-up assistance.

Water supply also hampered firefighting efforts.

‘To overcome this, we had our fire trucks pumping water from remote distances, including Victoria Road, which caused traffic disruptions,’ Supt Dewberry said.

Firefighters remain at the scene on Thursday morning to extinguish any hotspots but are yet to enter the gutted two storey building currently deemed unsafe due to debris and rubble after the roof collapsed.

Heavy overnight rain helped to douse the blaze and billowing smoke that engulfed the premises.

An investigation into the cause of the blaze is underway.