Brigades on the ball
Candle and drill battery culprits in call-outs
A LITHIUM battery from a cordless drill has been blamed for a small fire in a plant room at the CSIRO Marine Laboratory in Battery Point.
The Tasmania Fire Service was alerted to the blaze at 8.15am yesterday after an automatic fire alarm detected smoke in the air.
Fire crews from the greater Hobart area responded and discovered “knee-height” smoke on the second floor of the building.
Where the smoke was coming from remained a mystery until about 9.45am, when firefighters located the bag containing the battery and extinguished it, limiting the damage.
“It was positioned next to the airconditioning duct, causing smoke to spread throughout the building,” a TFS statement said.
“A hazardous materials fire crew also attended the incident due to the building containing chemicals used in laboratories.”
CSIRO oceans and atmosphere science and deputy director Andreas Schiller said all the staff inside had evacuated safely by the time crews arrived.
It was a busy 24 hours for firefighters, with a candle burning in a bedroom sparking a blaze in a South Hobart unit on Monday night.
The fire, reported by the residents just after 8pm, caused about $20,000 damage.
Crews from Hobart and Mt Nelson brigades arrived to find the unit full of smoke and a fire burning in a bedroom.
Station Officer Andrew Emery praised the residents for their quick action, which reduced the damage.
“The residents were alerted to the fire by a working smoke alarm and had a portable fire extinguisher which slowed the spread of the fire and reduced the damage,” Mr Emery said.
“The residents also shut the door to the bedroom, which contained the fire to that room of the property.”
The fire was found to have been caused by a lit candle being left unattended and too close to combustible materials.
“Anyone using candles in their homes should be aware of the dangers and should never leave them unattended,” Mr Emery said.
A large shed also went up in flames on a Martin St property in Wynyard about 12.30am yesterday.
Crews from Burnie, Wynyard and Somerset responded to the blaze, which took about 90 minutes to bring under control and caused up to $100,000 damage.
Tas-Networks attended to disconnect power to the shed and a crew stayed on watch overnight.
Investigators were unable to determine the cause of the fire. There was no one in the shed at the time and no injuries were reported.