FRIDAY’S devastating fire that destroyed the Woorinen Football Netball Club saw thirty firefighters fighting the flames for an hour before the blaze was under control.
The fire, which Country Fire Authority (CFA) investigators say was not deliberately lit, gutted the club rooms at Reserve Road, Woorinen South, leaving only the steel frame standing.
“The building was fully involved right through,” CFA Woorinen South captain Eddie Earle said.
“There were gas cylinders at the back that were burning out of copper pipes onto the building itself and solar panels on the roof…three had collapsed and the other three were still on top of the building.
“There were concerns about that — if the sun had come up they would have been active.”
Mr Earle and the CFA Woorinen South brigade were alerted to the blaze at 1.41am Friday morning and called for immediate backup from Swan Hill, Lake Boga and Beverford appliances.
With the site unsafe due to asbestos, CFA are looking to lift the roof off the kitchen area this week with a view to revealing more about the origins of the blaze.
CFA operations officer John Breaks told The Guardian there was no cause to believe the fire was suspicious.
“We’ve talked to some witnesses and will do some follow up work before we can put down the exact cause of the fire,” he said.
“We will work with the club and with their insurers to do a bit more work before we can give a definite answer.”
Tigers president Grant Jones called the weekend a “roller coaster”, but said his club was staying positive.
“It’s taken a couple of days to sink in,” Mr Jones said.
“We do have a long road ahead. It’s not a short road, it won’t happen overnight. But the sun still comes up in the morning.”
Pick up a copy of today’s Guardian (Monday August 3) for more on the Woorinen fire.
