A crime scene has been established after a fire at a vacant Newcastle hotel overnight.
About 5.30pm (Sunday 5 April 2020), emergency services were called to King Street, Newcastle, following reports of an explosion at an unoccupied licensed premises.
They arrived to find the building well alight; crews from Fire and Rescue NSW took several hours to extinguish the blaze.
More than 100 people from nearby buildings were evacuated as a precaution, two firefighters suffered minor injuries.
Officers from Newcastle City Police District have commenced investigations into the cause of the blaze.
Hunter Street remains closed between Auckland Street and Worth Place; local diversions are in place.
Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Newcastle Police on 4929 0999 or Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence.
