Strong winds hindered firefighters at the former Smorgy’s restaurant site in Bundoora this morning.
The Plenty Road site was torn apart on Sunday in a fire that
produced flames and thick plumes of smoke that climbed metres into the
air.
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According to the MFB, parts of the building may still be
smouldering, but the instability of the burnt-out structure combined
with strong winds was keeping them at bay.
“Our immediate concern now is increasing winds and loose debris,” MFB Commander Will Glenn told TWR this morning.
“We are expecting up to 90km/h winds today so we have to be pretty careful.
“It is too dangerous for anyone to get in the middle (of the
site). There is still a little bit of work to be done out there, the
fire situation is probably 95 per cent over.
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“There will be some areas in the middle that will still be hot that we can’t getto.
“Police have got the arson squad and investigators but it may be too dangerous even for them to go in with this wind.”
The strong winds made it impossible to use the MFB’s new $30,000
flying drone, recently announced as part of a 12-month pilot program.
Firefighters resorted to operating the drone by hand in a
cherrypicker which was then raised over the burnt-out site this morning.
“We will use (the drone) from our platform and get vision back
that we can look at. [We’ll] also record a bit of vision as it may be
too windy later for even the platform to go up,” Commander Glenn said.
Commander Glenn said firefighters had been on the scene overnight.
“Around about 9 o’clock last night it was … under control but a reasonable amount of it was still smouldering and burning.”
Bundoora residents were advised to take shelter indoors on Sunday
and Plenty Road was closed for hours as firefighters battled the blaze.
The former Smorgy’s and, more recently, Flavours site, has been
the subject of recent controversy, with Darebin Council writing to
Planning Minister Matthew Guy requesting he reject an eight-storey
multi-tower development earmarked for the site.
The Minister’s office declined the request.
See video below.
