Cape business crippled
Volunteer firefighters battle blaze for hours in remote Far North community
A CAPE York leader says a blaze that resulted in $1 million of damage to a Far Northern business could not have come at a worse time of the year.
A small group of Rural Fire Service volunteers is being credited with preventing a major emergency after bringing under control a fire at Top End Motors at Seisia, which was burning nearly 130,000L of petrol, on Sunday afternoon.
Seisia, a remote community at the tip of Cape York, does not have its own fire brigade, with the closest being a boat trip away on Thursday Island.
A home and 30 cars were completely gutted by the potentially suspicious fire as it ripped through the premises.
Police and fire investigators returned to the scene yesterday as they tried to identify the source of the blaze.
The damage bill has been estimated at more than $1 million, including the cars, some of which belonged to customers.
Business owner Mark Paltridge was not in town when the fire broke out, but has since returned.
Northern Peninsula Area Councillor for Seisia, Joseph Elu, said Top End Motors repaired vehicles and supplied roadside assistance to many travellers journeying to the Cape’s tip.
“There’s two mechanics up here, but now there’s only one, and they’ll be really stretched,” he said.
“At the end of September, that’s when the big numbers (of travellers) come, during the school holiday period.
“We had slowed down a couple of weeks ago, but now it’s going to ramp up again.”
Queensland Fire and Emergency Service Thursday Island station officer Michael Beck said about five local volunteer firefighters had to battle the blaze with basic equipment for several hours before the professional crew arrived by helicopter.
“It was a commendable effort these guys put in with the limited gear they had,” he said. “What our crew did (when we arrived) was basically mop up.
“They don’t even have any breathing apparatus or any structural firefighting gear.”
He said that due to their lack of equipment, the volunteers had to position themselves behind barriers for protection as they doused the fire, aided by a council water truck and a backhoe.
Mr Beck said there were nine huge drums of unleaded and diesel fuel nearby and there had been fears the fire would reach them.
Torres Strait police Insp Mark Lingwood said there was nothing to indicate the fire had been deliberately lit, but they were treating it as suspicious until it was deemed otherwise.