By Ruza Zivkusic
AN electrical fault is believed to have sparked a fire at a Sunshine factory last week that caused up to $250,000 in damage.
Twenty-five Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) officers spent 18 hours at the blaze that started about 5pm last Monday at the Armco barrier factory.
MFB Western Zone Operations Commander Ken Brown said firefighters worked through the night on the fire, which destroyed the office of the company that supplies guard rails for roads and other applications.
Mr Brown said it only took an hour to control the fire but because of straw particles inside the factory, the situation needed to be monitored throughout the night.
He said he believed that the fire had been caused by an electrical fault.
Mr Brown said the front of the building and the ceiling were severely damaged, while the remainder was saved.
Armco’s installation foreman Justin Keller, whose uncle Richard Keller owns the business, said the damage was devastating.
“We are worried about the history and lost information (from the office) as well as obviously the important customer database,” Mr Keller said.
He said it was lucky that none of the eight workers employed at the factory were present at the time.
Mr Keller, who lives nearby, said he heard a helicopter fly over the area but it didn’t strike him that there could be a fire at the factory.
“When I first got here there was a lot of smoke, you could see the office in flames,” Mr Keller said.
Mr Brown said that the factory’s equipment and machinery were untouched by the blaze.
