Call to tackle two-day blaze

By Shaun Inguanzo
CASEY firefighters lent a hand to their CFA colleagues in containing a $7.5 million blaze in Dandenong on Monday night.
Narre Warren and Hallam CFA volunteers were just two of the many crews that headed to the Designwyse computer store on Princes Highway to fight the fire.
And firefighters are to consider prosecutions after illegal modifications to a hydrant and sub standard building works turned a routine call-out into a life-threatening inferno.
Bystanders had to run to safety after the blaze burst through the Dandenong building’s glass front.
Fire crews battled the blaze for three hours after it erupted at 5.15pm and spent the next two days hunting spot fires.
The fire has left two firefighters injured.
The blaze quickly spread to a furniture store sharing the same building as the computer business.
Fire engulfed the building and as it burnt computers and furniture to a crisp.
An army of 100 firefighters and 21 trucks battled to save surrounding buildings.
Firefighters were still on site yesterday (Wednesday) investigating the exact cause of the fire.
And a separate investigation launched by Dandenong CFA will attempt to answer a plethora of questions that its firefighters are asking about the building’s fire safety standards.
Dandenong CFA officer-in-charge Trevor Owen said an illegally modified fire hydrant failed to provide sufficient water pressure or volume and forced firefighters to shut down the Princes Highway during peak hour traffic so they could run four high-pressure hoses to a hydrant near Gladstone Road.
He said the CFA would consider legal action against whoever was responsible because the lost time also allowed the fire to develop and so increased the risk to firefighters and the safety of neighbouring properties.
“The CFA has the power to charge people where there have been breaches of the building code,” Mr Owen said.
Because the blaze quickly penetrated the thin fibreboard it hit the combustible cocktail of leather, vinyl and other furniture materials, increasing its fury.
Amazingly, firefighters saved the surrounding buildings in a three-hour battle that included some minor casualties.
“Our guys positioned their trucks to defend the property and we had enormous challenges to overcome in the sense that the radiant heat was so great,” Mr Owen said.
“We suffered minor damage to the plastic on one of the trucks as a result of the radiant heat.”
Mr Owen said one firefighter suffered smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion, and another steam burns.