Two investigators from Casterton and Heathmere began sifting through collapsed roof sections, shelving and food in the stricken supermarket yesterday afternoon.
The fire which was contained to the front and middle of the store, would have been far worse had it not been for the very quick reaction of the local fire fighters, who arrived on scene just four minutes after they were notified by police at about 4.45am.
CFA District 4 Operations Officer Gary Harker said it was a challenging fire to put out.
“We got there at the right time but it was a very hot blaze above our heads,” he said. “There was major internal damage and we had to put water everywhere. We had to deal with a lot of small explosions as dog food and other canned goods expanded and blew up due to the heat. There were cans flying through the air. It took about two hours to put it out.”
In all, some 70 firefighters took part in what officers said was a difficult operation. Besides the
“Five pumpers, four tankers, an aerial appliance and a van were all on scene” Mr Harker said. “Equipment came from Ballarat and
Portland Observer April 30, 2012
Subscribe to this comment's feed
