Electrical fault causes fish & chip eatery blaze
A fire which might have left close to a $500,000 trail of destruction at a seafood eatery in the Tasmanian town of Ulverstone has been blamed on a faulty light fitting.
Tasmania Fire Service responded to reports of the fire at the Ulverstone Wharf Precinct just after 4pm yesterday.
A large contingent of career and volunteer crews from Ulverstone, Devonport, Penguin and Forth Valley arrived to deal with the blaze at Pedro’s Take Away Fish And Chip venue.
Fortunately, no one was hurt. The building was only occupied by staff at the time.
An off-duty firefighter spotted the fire burning in the back of the building, and evacuated the premises and then reported the fire to the Tasmanian Fire Service by dialling triple zero.
It took them over an hour to bring the fire under control and eventually, it was contained by 5.30pm.
The building includes not only a takeaway section but also a restaurant.
Again, it could have been worse. The fire was contained to the takeaway area.
It’s been deemed accidental with further investigations showing it was sparked by an electrical fault in a light fitting.
And while there were no injuries, the blaze left a lot of damage.
TFS North-West regional chief Shane Batt said the damage bill could be more than $400,000 with a rough estimate of $300,000 worth of damage to the takeaway shop area and about $50,000 worth of fish on the site. The takeaway shop area will now have to be demolished.
“It could be more than $400,000 [and] up to half a million dollars damage,” Mr Batt told the Hobart Mercury.
As there was no longer any power for the fridges, he said the TFS was now seeking Central Coast Council advice about where to store the seafood.
The building did not have smoke alarms.
TFS senior station officer David Meldrum said working smoke detectors were needed in every home and business.
“Smoke alarms are your best chance at early detection of a fire, and early detection reduces the risk of death or injury and damage to property as a result of fire,” Mr Meldrum told the Hobart Mercury.
by Leon Gettler, November 9th 2017
