Myer in Liverpool Street Hobart is currently on fire.

http://www.coastview.com.au/site/hobart/

http://img530.imageshack.us/my.php?image=myer4um2.jpg
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http://img297.imageshack.us/my.php?image=myer6uu0.jpg
http://img530.imageshack.us/my.php?image=myer5dy2.jpg
http://img297.imageshack.us/my.php?image=myer3jh1.jpg
http://img297.imageshack.us/my.php?image=myer2xz4.jpg

http://www.news.com.au/mercury/story/0,22884,22464375-921,00.html

http://picasaweb.google.com.au/yuri.rosenzweig/MyersBurning/photo#5112947033981387202

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/09/22/2040692.htm

UPDATE:

HOBART'S biggest department store, Myer, became a raging inferno this afternoon when a fire broke out.

Onlookers crowded the streets tonight as flames and smoke roared into the sky, destroying an estimated $15 million worth of stock.

The fire is believed to have started in a cavity between the ground and first floors in the Liverpool St section of Myer shortly after 3pm.

Alarms were activated and staff and customers were quickly evacuated, with the first fire crews arriving around 3.15pm.

At first thick smoke could be seen pouring from the first floor windows and water from the sprinkler system leaked from the floor cavity out through the storefront awning.

Fire fighters wearing breathing apparatus entered the ground floor of the building, but were unable to locate the source of the smoke.

They left the building when they discovered a section of the floor above had collapsed.

Firefighters broke the first floor windows and used a snorkel to pump water into the burning building from Liverpool St but were unable to see any flames.

Just before 6pm flames started coming from the windows, soon followed by a loud hissing and a roar as the fire suddenly took off.

There was a series of loud crashes as the interior of the building began to collapse, large flames soaring above the top of the building and fireballs bursting from the windows of the Liverpool St facade.

Myer store manager Peter Monachetti was present at the fire scene but did not want to comment to the media.

Fire crews struggled to find a way to attack the fire, attempting to approach it from Myer's Murray St entry and from the Cat & Fiddle Arcade entrance.

Fire crews battled to bring the blaze under control well into the evenihng.

http://www.news.com.au/mercury/story/0,22884,22464375-921,00.html

Yicks!

Thanks Greg for sharing these photos.

HOBART'S central business district has been shut down by police after a massive fire tonight that destroyed a historic department store building dating back to 1836.

A police officer at the scene said that all levels of the Myer department store in Liverpool St had collapsed and the building had been "completely destroyed".

Roads surrounding the area have been closed to traffic and pedestrians have been banned from entering a police exclusion zone for safety reasons.

The fire has so far been contained to the historic Myer building and has not spread to neighbouring structures, police said.

It is understood the blaze started at around 3.30pm (AEST) this afternoon.

Shoppers and staff fled the large department store as the building was engulfed in flames. There were no reports of injuries.

"All customers and staff were safely evacuated," a Tasmanian Police spokeswoman said.

"There is nothing to indicate at this stage that the fire was suspicious."

Fire crews from all over the city were attending the blaze and a large part of the CBD had been evacuated, she said.

It is not known how many people were in the building before the blaze took hold.

The building is one of Tasmania's most historic, dating back to 1836.

Managing director of Beyond PR Becher Townshend said he understood the fire originated at the cosmetics counter on the store's ground floor.

"I'm told the value of the Myer building is approximately $40 million to rebuild it, so that does not include stock," Mr Townshend said.

Beyond PR is acting for the Property Council of Australia, Tasmania Division, which represents most commercial property owners in Hobart.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22464256-2,00.html

I've uploaded some of these photos locally, plus a bunch from emails that have gone around. If your the owner of any of these photos I'm more than willing to remove the photos or give you credit.

Below is a sample of the photos.



















View more photos--> http://tassiechat.com/photos/v/Tasmanian+Photos/Myers+hobart/

Myers Demolition photos: