Six Fire and Rescue NSW trucks were dispatched to attend the blaze at the Illawarra Gardens public housing complex.

The fire is believed to have started in a communal garbage chute.

Twenty people were evacuated from the building as crews worked to extinguish the fire, which created a large amount of smoke.

There were no reports of injuries and there was minor damage to the building.

The fire was extinguished at 2.50pm and crews remained on the scene to investigate the cause as and mop up the scene.

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