Update Thursday 3pm
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A business in the same building as the Gordon Hotel was temporarily evacuated after this morning's fire.
Nerida's Hair Salon owner Nicole Downey said she was cutting a client's hair when she saw smoke emerging from the structure.
"Because it's such an old building it could have gone up quickly if it got into the main building," she said.
"There was a lot of smoke but the fire brigade and police were here within minutes."
She, a staff member and a client evacuated from the business for two hours. People stood in the street watching the blaze in the beer garden. Police said three staff members and one patron were inside at the time it broke out.
Mrs Downey said it was fortunate it wasn't worse. However two rooms at the rear have sustained some damage.
Meantime, power remains cut to the hotel only, meaning drinks and food cannot be served until it is restored.
Police forensic investigators remain at the scene. Witnesses are urged to call Goulburn Police on 4824 0799 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
All traffic lanes have been re-opened.
Update Thursday 1pm
Police are investigating the cause of a fire at the Gordon Hotel on Thursday morning.
Detective Chief Inspector Brendan Bernie said forensic investigators were at the scene, waiting to gain safe access to the site.
"We are looking at the fire's cause and origin and the total cost of the damage to determine whether it should be reported to the NSW Coroner," he said.
ALSO READ: Knitters to yarn bomb trees in Belmore Park
A $500,000 threshold applies before a report to the coroner is triggered.
Traffic diversions in Union and Wilmot Streets were still in place at 1pm. DCI Bernie praised the behaviour of motorists during the incident.
Update Thursday 12.30pm
Goulburn's fire brigade had a running start when a blaze broke out at the rear of The Gordon Hotel on Thursday morning.
NSW Fire and Rescue station officer Darrell Law said a crew was driving along Auburn Street shortly after 11am when the incident popped up on their dashboard.
"We could see black smoke in the distance and when we arrived the beer garden was well alight," he said.
This section sustained 90 per cent of the damage and was "beyond repair." However two rooms at the back of the pub also sustained some damage.
It took crews one hour to extinguish the blaze.
It is not known where the fire started and the cause is under investigation.
An Essential Energy crew cut power to the hotel during the fire but there was no outage in the wider area.
Police were on scene and closed one lane of Wilmot Street between Union and Allison Streets. They also closed the northbound lane of Union Street, between Chatsbury and Wilmot Streets.
Update noon Thursday
A fire at the rear of the Gordon Hotel has been extinguished.
NSW Fire and Rescue Superintendent Scott Dodson said the blaze did not extend into the main part of the building, but was restricted to the pergola.
A rear shed also sustained fire damage.
A witness told The Post that the air conditioner on the roof of the beer garden was on fire "and went up quickly."
Earlier, people in the building were quickly evacuated. Superintendent Dodson said a full search afterward revealed that no one was left inside.
NSW Ambulance was on the scene as a precaution. Police also attended. The cause is under investigation.
11.30am Thursday
Thirty firefighters are on the scene of a fire at The Gordon Hotel.
NSW Fire and Rescue superintendent Scott Dodson said the Goulburn Brigade was called to the scene at 11.02am, where crews found a rear pergola well alight.
"At this stage it hasn't extended to the building's main structure," he said.
Mr Dodson said the fire was reported to be under control, thanks to two NSW Fire and recuse brigades and three from the RFS.
He told The Post a large amount of smoke was emanating from the building while crews were enroute.
NSW Ambulance was on scene as a precaution but there were no reports of injuries.
More to come
We depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support.