Fire fighters worked for hours to extinguish the last of a huge blaze that ripped through the old Junee Hospital turned hostel on Button Avenue in the early hours of Sunday morning, with residents saying they were "sickened" by the site of the blaze.
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More than 11 fire trucks from across the Riverina attended the scene, the first crew from Junee arriving at 5:30am on Sunday morning.
All residents had been safely evacuated by the time the fire services arrived on the scene and three were treated by paramedics for smoke inhalation with no one taken to hospital.
A fire crew was told one resident raised the alarm within the building after noticing the blaze and managed to see all residents evacuated safely, with one man reportedly treated for cuts on his arm sustained after breaking a window to escape.
Residents belongings that managed to be saved from the blaze were strewn across the front lawn while crews continued to extinguish the fire at 9:30am.
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Claire Corbett has lived across the street with her family for over 20 years and said the scene was "sickening" to witness.
"A neighbour knocked on our door at 5:30am so we came out to look and it was glowing, you could see it from ages away, you didn't need to step very far outside," she said. "When we came out there was a big white spire on top of it that was completely up in flames and then fell over.
"It was quite sickening, I haven't been able to have breakfast yet because I'm just trying to stomach it."
She said the building holds a lot of significance for the town having served as a hospital for decades.
"There a lot of history in the building, I grew up across the road so to see it up in flames and know that's it, it's gone, up in flames overnight, gone forever," she said.
"A lot of people came by to see what was happening and one woman burst into tears, it was very distressing.
"This building has been around for 100 years, it has been a hospital so it's part of the community, a historic building people have worked there, had babies there and it's just gone overnight."
Junee Mayor Neil Smith said the loss of the building would be difficult for the community.
"It's got a place in the community," he said. "Most locals have had an association with the hospital at some point in their lives whether it was having children there or having a parent pass away there all manner of things its' a significant building."
Junee fire rescue volunteer Cass Webb said the response from fellow fire services was impressive.
"There was half a dozen rural trucks here, every man and their dog came out," she said.
Fire and Rescue NSW crews from Junee and Wagga attended the scene as did Rural Fire Service crews from towns including Narrandera and Temora, SES crews and paramedics.
Ms Webb said fire fighters were concerned with the safety of surrounding homes and residents when approaching the fire, working preventatively to keep residents of the Cooinda Court Aged Care Facility on the corner of Button Avenue and Commins Street safe from the blaze.
One resident of the aged car facility, Graham Walker said no one had been evacuated but he was woken up by staff closing his windows at 5:30am to prevent smoke being inhaled by the residents.
Ms Webb described the building as "gutted" after the blaze engulfed the centre of the structure and the roof collapsed, while Junee FRNSW deputy captain David Hedlund described the building as a "total loss" after the devastating blaze.
"We got the call at 5:30 in the morning and when we got here the place was already engulfed, the roof had started to collapse and there were flames coming straight out so we just immediately started fighting the fire until the other crews arrived," Mr Hedlund said.
"The residents were already evacuated on arrival and the ambulance was already here. Everyone was accounted for so we had no worries with that."
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