Business News
Professionalism outs small fire at Portland Aluminium
Thursday 23. July 2009 - Professionalism was on display this morning at Portland Aluminium when emergency response teams and the Country Fire Authority worked hand-in-hand to quell a small on site fire that had started at about ten oclock on Monday evening.
A small fire began in the rodding room, and Portland Aluminium emergency response personnel were contacted and responded according to their normal procedure. The CFA was also requested to attend.
The Portland Aluminium fire tender was immediately positioned and connected to hoses to begin control of the fire. The CFA responded with a Pumper vehicle with a crew of five, and a multi-purpose vehicle with a crew of two. Five other fire fighters remained at the station on call.
The CFA officers arrived to find that emergency response personnel from the smelter had controlled the blaze and that the fire was out. The CFA conducted an inspection with Portland Aluminium personnel.
Portland Aluminium Operations Manager John Osborne said the crew and emergency response personnel are to be congratulated on the rapid and professional manner in which the joint operation was conducted to control the blaze. There were no injuries to any team member and damage is minimal.
“The fire began in our rodding room area, with a crucible catching alight, and was isolated to a very small area. The supervisor and crew (on shift at the time) handled the situation very effectively with all required emergency and evacuation procedures followed,” Mr Osborne said.
A full investigation into the cause of the fire is under way.