Factory inferno

Jane Emerick
A “dangerous” fire at South Geelong yesterday morning left a damage bill costing millions of dollars.
Sixty firefighters and 12 units had to overcome a water shortage to fight the flames at a multi-business building in Wood Street.
The fire erupted in the former wool store building around 4.40am.
The blaze wiped out eight tenant businesses including a building company, two steel fabrication firms and a car repair business.
Firefighters at the blaze said they heard “numerous explosions”.
CFA regional duty officer Graham Lay described “rapid-burning” fire as dangerous for firefighters.
Mr Lay said the blaze consumed the entire building and its contents.
No one was injured but the building and its tenant businesses suffered “considerable damage”.
“At this point I’d say there will be one to $2 million in damages but this will have to be determined,” Mr Lay said.
“As far the cause of the fire, we’re a long way from knowing that.”
Fire officer Pat Geary said conditions were dangerous because of substances left over from the building’s former role as a storage centre for sheepskins.
“There was oil reside from the sheepskin and one of the businesses had shipping containers but we had no idea what was inside of them,” he said.
Mr Geary said the lack of water hamperred efforts to bring the blaze under control.
“We had huge water problems,” he said.
“We couldn’t get enough (water) on the fire so we concentrated our efforts on containing the fire and protecting the surrounding buildings.”
Firefighters saved nearby buildings from damage after containing the blaze “fairly early” yesterday, he said.
He expected the building to keep smouldering throughout the night.
Police closed Wood Street and Gravel Pits Road yesterday as firefighters continued working on extinguishing the fire.