It was a case of right place, right time for CFA brigades and personnel yesterday (29 May) when a fire broke out at the site of the former Seymour East Primary School.
Trawool brigade members undertaking driver training in their tanker passed by at 11.59am and noticed smoke coming from the building. They immediately raised the alarm and began fighting the blaze.
A Seymour brigade pumper was also nearby and on scene within a minute, while District 12 Operations Officer Peter Bell wasn’t far behind. He’d been supervising brigade elections in the area.
“We started with an external attack and forced our way into the building, using breathing apparatus because of the toxic smoke,” said Peter.
“Passers-by told us squatters and young people frequented the site, so we had to search the structure as it burned for anyone trapped inside. Fortunately, no one was found.
“Because our members were on scene so quickly the fire was contained to one store room. It was extensively damaged with the fire spreading into the ceiling space above.”
It took 53 minutes to bring the fire under control.
The fire has been deemed suspicious and police are investigating its cause.
Eleven CFA trucks from Trawool, Seymour, Avenel, Bendigo, Broadford and Hilldene fought the fire.
Author: CFA Media