Exhaust ducts cleaned the day before fire

The inquest into a fire which destroyed part of the Diamant Hotel in Canberra's CBD has heard the ducts above a pizza oven were cleaned a day before the blaze.

The fire started inside the ducts of Flint restaurant where a build up of grime caught alight.

The restaurant, a wine bar and offices were destroyed in the blaze.

Grant Kells, who ran the restaurant with his brother, says cleaners came a week before the fire, but were called back after the head chef complained the job had not been done properly.

Mr Kells told the ACT Coroners Court the cleaners had been employed on the instructions of the land lord more than a year before.

He says a chimney sweep used to clean the flue.

Mr Kells also told the court the cooking staff would turn off sprinklers designed to cool the duct work because they caused smoke to come out of the oven into the restaurant.

John Hawke, who runs the cleaning company which was employed to clear the ducts, says two large garbage bags of charcoal and fat were removed from the system that week.

He told the court his workers ran out of time and went back later to finish the job.

Mr Hawke testified it was a difficult system to clean because it had several turns and only two access points.

The lack of access to the ducts and whether they had been cleaned appropriately are key elements in the inquiry.

Mr Hawke told the court he believed all the charcoal rubbish had been removed from the ducts, but that could not be guaranteed because of the lack of access.

Source: ABC News, 9 November 2012