A council spokeswoman said the council was focused on operating as usual and that almost none of the planned activities had been cancelled. However, some councillors said they were worried about how their plans for bringing the city forward would be affected.

The spokeswoman confirmed that the August 30 council meeting would go ahead as planned, from 7pm, but would be held at the Casula Powerhouse.

Cr Gary Lucas said the fire was a tragedy which would set the council back.

``But it will only put a hold on some of the services,'' he said. ``This isn't going to stop us in the long term. We've got to move forward quickly and start getting things done, which is what we're doing. Soon people will forget about the fire.''

But Cr Tony Hadchiti disagreed, and said that with the council focusing on rebuilding, it might be difficult to achieve some of the broader aims the councillors had when they were elected.

``I hope this is not the case, but it's going to make things tough,'' Cr Hadchiti said. ``Hopefully, we can get past this and get on with what we were trying to achieve quickly.''

Cr Anne Stanley said she was just pleased that no one was hurt in the blaze and that it was important for the council to concentrate on getting back to normal.

``As a council we're focusing on getting back on our feet as quickly as we can and moving forward,'' Cr Stanley said.