Repairs begin to fix mill damage

EXTRA workers will be brought in from other sugar mills to repair a Burdekin mill that was damaged by fire, with its reopening date uncertain and 150 jobs up in the air.

Five Queensland Fire and Emergency crews from Townsville, Home Hill, Ayr and Giru were called to the blaze at Pioneer Mill on Saturday about 6.10pm.

Ayr Fire Station’s Greg Vincett said emergency response teams from Wilmar already had water on the factory’s bagasse conveyor system, where damage was largely contained.

“(There was a) significant amount of damage to the mill,” he said.

Mr Vincett said the blaze took firefighters two hours to get under control.

About 20 Wilmar employees and contractors were on site when the fire broke out and had assembled at the evacuation point prior to emergency service crews arriving.

It’s understood about 150 people are employed at the mill.

Canegrowers Burdekin director Owen Menkens said the destructive fire could spell the end of the season for the Pioneer Mill and added stress to canefarmers’ operations.

“No one’s really sure how long they’ll be out or if they’ll even start up again,” Mr Menkens said. “The longer the crushing goes, the more chance you’ve got of the sugar content dropping, so it makes it harder, which is why you’d prefer to get it (crushing season) finished by the middle of November.”

Mr Menkens said he wasn’t sure if the mill’s closure would result in staffing lay-offs and it was a disappointing blow for an industry already under stress.

“The main thing is no one was hurt but it’s a bit depressing – the prices aren’t good with the reef regulations hanging over us and it’s all putting pressure on us,” he said.

“It will be a big expense for the mill and hassle for contractors but we’ve had it happen before and will just have to carry on.”

Wilmar general manager operations Mike Mcleod said crews had already begun repairing the damaged plant, with burnt and harvested cane in the Pioneer Mill area being transferred to Invicta and Kalamia mills.

“Over the long weekend, our people have been completing a damage assessment, developing work plans for the repairs and clearing out damaged equipment,” he said.

“We’ve also been in contact with suppliers to expedite the parts and materials we’ll need to complete repairs.”

Mr Mcleod said it was still too early to estimate the cost of the damage.

“We’ll have a clearer idea (today) of when Pioneer Mill will be back up and running,” he said.

The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.