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Canberra forward Corey Harawira-Naera could be discharged from hospital as early as Sunday after collapsing on the ground and experiencing a seizure mid-game against South Sydney.

Shortly after taking a hit-up in the second half on Saturday night, Harawira-Naera appeared to become disoriented and fell to the turf.

The match at Sydney's Accor Stadium stopped for over 10 minutes as medical staff rushed onto the field and attended to the New Zealand international, who had begun convulsing.

Harawira-Naera was conscious and responsive by the time he was transferred from the field in a medicab and into an ambulance.

He travelled to Westmead Hospital with his sister, who had been a spectator at the game.

Just after 11pm on Saturday night, the Raiders provided an update on Harawira-Naera's condition.

"He's improving and feeling better and will hopefully be discharged from hospital and return home to Canberra tomorrow," a statement posted to social media read.

"We will provide further updates early in the week.

"Thanks everyone for your concern and thoughts tonight, it's much appreciated."

No player harboured more concern for Harawira-Naera on Saturday night than Albert Hopoate, who roomed with the second-rower for three years.

The pair are still close mates, FaceTiming or catching up most days, and the Raiders winger was visibly distressed when Harawira-Naera went down.

"Obviously it was pretty scary at the time," Hopoate told AAP.

"You don't expect anything like that to happen, especially in a game. There aren't many words."

Canberra captain Jarrod Croker abandoned all thoughts of the contest as his teammate lay on the ground.

"For that whole period, I don't think anyone was thinking about football, to be honest," he said.

"Everyone was just looking out for Corey and doing whatever we could."

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart praised both his players and South Sydney's for rushing to Harawira-Naera's side after he fell.

The players encircled the 28-year-old to give the medical staff privacy as they worked on him.

"That's when you see the real character of these footballers," Stuart said.

"When one of the boys go down, it doesn't matter what team he's on, everyone got around the fact that it was a serious situation.

"There was a lot of care out there for him. That's appreciated by all our players and club, how the Souths boys handled it as well.

"No one likes to see those serious types of scenes."

The Raiders regrouped after Harawira-Naera left the field and vowed to keep playing in his honour, eventually triumphing 33-26.

"Jarrod Croker, he's our leader and Jamal Fogarty, those two are pretty good leaders and they always know what to say in moments like that," Hopoate said.

"We got in a huddle after that and said we'll do it for Corey, and we did."

© AAP 2023

Two children have handed themselves into police and at least 50 residents have been displaced after a "once-in-a-decade" inferno in inner Sydney.

Witnesses reported seeing a group of young people running from the heritage-listed former hat factory in Surry Hills on Thursday afternoon, shortly before the massive blaze took hold.

As more than 120 firefighters battled to douse the fire, two 13-year-olds approached inner city police stations on Thursday night and began assisting with police inquiries, police said on Friday.

Three or four other children thought to have been inside the building before the fire were urged to come forward with their parents.

The brick-and-timber building, and a neighbouring structure formerly home to karaoke bar Ding Dong Dang, was known for regularly housing 15 rough sleepers.

Police made contact with 13 of those people to confirm their safety.

Within an hour of the blaze beginning, the former factory's roof collapsed, followed by the floors and parts of the building's walls, sending red hot bricks tumbling to the streets below.

Local locksmith Phu Tang said he was walking back to his shop when he heard shattered glass hitting the footpath, looked up and saw the building alight.

"The kids ... screamed upwards talking to another kid inside the building, asking why he was still inside," he told Sunrise on Friday.

The intensity of the inferno would not soon be forgotten by the dozens of firefighters who rushed to the former hat factory, Fire and Rescue NSW Acting Commissioner Jeremy Fewtrell said on Friday

"This is really a once-in-a-decade type of fire," he said.

"It's a really defining point.

"You've got all the dry, very seasoned timber ... stacked up, the framework, the building, the floors, the staircases.

"It enabled the fire to spread very quickly vertically.

"In a sense, it's the perfect set of conditions to have a very intense fire."

The only reported injury was a minor burn suffered by a firefighter.

Firefighters worked through the night to contain the fire and remained on scene hosing down hot spots on Friday, using a drone to monitor the scene for potential flare-ups.

"It is quite challenging to extinguish the remaining pockets of fire, because of the collapsed debris and material from the buildings that have fallen down," Mr Fewtrell said.

A tight exclusion zone is expected to remain for at least seven days, displacing at least 50 residents as engineers' concerns grow about a bulging wall in the factory.

"Whether there's bits of the walls that need to be knocked down in a safe way, or other bits that need to be shored up," Mr Fewtrell said.

"The engineers will work through all that."

Impacted residents are urged to register online with the Red Cross for support.

The former hat factory had been vacant about four months, and there were plans to convert the building into a 123-room, two-restaurant hotel at a cost of almost $40 million.

The neglected building was a disaster waiting to happen, according to property manager Reuben who lives in a neighbouring apartment.

Rushing home as he saw news reports of the fire, he said he was told to stay inside by police as the fire took hold.

"It's crazy, it was right there. I've seen that derelict building for ages and thought it looked like a tinder box," he told AAP.

"Like, something is bound to happen."

Due to the size of the fire and the impact on the community, a report will be prepared for the coroner.

© AAP 2023

Tonnes of bricks could again rain down on a Sydney street amid concern more parts of a charred seven-storey building might collapse.

More than 120 firefighters from 30 fire trucks battled the blaze which broke out at a heritage-listed former hat factory in Surry Hills on Thursday afternoon, consuming the building as thousands of people watched on.

Firefighters worked through the night to extinguish the blaze and are using a drone to monitor hot spots for potential reignition.

There are concerns more building walls could still collapse without warning.

"There are two walls that are in a precarious position," Fire and Rescue NSW Superintendent Adam Dewberry told AAP on Friday.

"There's definitely a high chance they'll come down without notice."

Supt Dewberry said there is still a significant amount of work to be done to make the building safe for access, especially if the wind picks up.

"We are talking about tonnes and tonnes of bricks that could come down and become projectiles," he said.

"There are glass windows and glass panelling still falling down from the building across the road."

A tight exclusion zone surrounds the building, ensuring nobody including firefighters can get in.

About 50 people are still unable to return to their homes after being evacuated.

Among those locked out overnight was a bride getting married on Friday.

Firefighters were able to enter her apartment and collect her wedding dress during a run for essentials.

Once the area is safe, residents and businesses are expected to be allowed to return to their premises and the major thoroughfare Elizabeth Street will be reopened.

Supt Dewberry praised his crews for preventing significant damage to nearby buildings after fire spread into an apartment block and one suffered extreme heat damage to its exterior.

There were plans to turn the former hat factory into a 123-room, two-restaurant hotel at a cost of almost $40 million.

The cause of the blaze remains unknown, and an investigation is underway.

Due to the size of the fire and the impact on the community, a report will be prepared for the coroner.

A locksmith working nearby said he saw a group of teenagers running from the building as it caught alight.

"One of our workers did see some school kids coming out of the building," a Hildebrandt Locksmith employee, who did not give his name, told AAP.

The fire was one of the largest fires in the city for years, Fire and Rescue NSW acting Commissioner Jeremy Fewtrell said.

He said it was lucky no one was badly hurt in the extremely dangerous conditions.

The former factory's roof collapsed, then the floors, before parts of the building's walls fell down shortly before 5pm, sending red hot bricks tumbling to the streets below.

The only reported injury was a minor burn suffered by a firefighter.

A ute parked beside the building was also lost in the fire.

© AAP 2023