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Damage estimated at tens of thousands of dollars has been caused by a fire at the Floreat Forum shopping centre.
Fire and Emergency Services say people had to be evacuated but no one was injured in the blaze about 8:00 pm last night.
It took firefighters about half an hour to put the fire out.
Fire and Emergency Services say the cause of the fire is still being investigated but it does not look suspicious.
Goulburn Murray region schools were the biggest winners in yesterday’s Victorian budget.
The Victorian Government announced $230 million for school buildings and equipment in the budget.
It includes $1.5 million to rebuild the Toolamba Primary School which was badly damaged by fire in February.
There is funding to keep the Tawonga Primary School open and improvements to those at Euroa, Mansfield, Mount Beauty, Myrtleford and Tallygaroopna.
Visitor facilities at the Mount Buffalo chalet will also be improved and an Indigenous dance academy will be established in Mooroopna.
A total of $2 million will be spent planning the future needs of courts including those at Shepparton and Wangaratta.
The Government will also commit $136 million for fire and emergency services.
But Dr Harry Hemley from the Australian Medical Association says there is no mention of funding in the state budget for the Albury-Wodonga Health Service.
He says the Victorian Government is required to contribute its share of money to running the health service.
Dr Hemley says the Government also needs to better plan for growing demand on health services into the future.
“We’re growing at 100,000 people a year, we need to have a plan and how we’re going to address that growth,” he said.
“In the plan you would have things like the Albury-Wodonga cross border arrangement and all of the small hospitals and how they’re going to fit into it.
“That’s what I mean when I say we need a vision for the future – we need a plan for the future.”
Meanwhile, regional police stations have been granted $10 million for improvements, including money to buy land for a new police station in Echuca.
Campaspe Mayor Peter Williams says it has been a long time coming.
“It is very much a run-down facility and it’s undersized and it certainly doesn’t deliver what the police need to deliver – best quality service,” he said.
“It’s exciting that they’ve identified they’re going to purchase land to build the new station and we hope that that will now roll on to a new police station in the next few years.”
The Liberal Member for Benambra, Bill Tilley, says he is disappointed no money has been allocated to expand the Wodonga police station, which is overcrowded.
“We’ve heard the former chief commissioner of police talking about how she’s been working with this Government about the extensions for the Wodonga police station,” he said.
“[But] no certainty and no time line has been given or any money has been committed to Wodonga police station.”
Firefighters have controlled a bushfire in the Chittering area, but the fire is not yet contained.
About 30 firefighters are trying to extinguish the blaze, which started on Great Northern Highway near Blue Plains Road this afternoon.
The Fire and Emergency Services Authority says firefighters successfully saved two homes and four machinery sheds from the fire.
Some fencing has been destroyed.
Motorists are being cautioned to adjust their driving because there is a significant amount of smoke in the area.
At one stage, the Great Northern Highway was closed.
It is now open, and police have been escorting motorists through the area.
The Fire and Emergency Services Authority (FESA) is warning people to keep the possibility of a nasty, late season cyclone in mind when planning their Easter holiday.
Monsoonal systems that develop in March and April tend to be more severe than those earlier in the season.
Ex-cyclone Paul has weakened into a deep tropical low over Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory and is expected to move slowly south-east today.
Residents are being advised to monitor weather bureau forecasts and warnings and adjust their plans accordingly.
FESA’s regional director, Rob Cox, says it might not be the idea time to go camping.
“The cyclone season is not over until April and as people are going away on holidays there is still the possibility of a cyclone being in the region,” he said.
“If you’re going away you need to tidy up your property and get it cyclone-ready just in case.”
Kolkata, Mar 29 (ANI): The death toll from the fire that swept through the floors of the multi-storied Stephen Court building in Park Street on March 23 has gone up to 36, following the recovery of one more body on Monday from the fifth floor of the building.
Kolkata Municipal Corporation official said: “We are working very carefully to remove the derbris, so a lot of time is being taken,” adding that nearly 75 percent of the work of removing the rubble is finished and the rest will be done tonight.
West Bengal Fire and Emergency Services Minister Pratim Chatterjee had on March 28 said the Stephen Court fire has recorded the highest ever death toll in any fire incident in the metropolis even as search for the missing is still on.
“In my 14-year stint as minister, this is the worst fire tragedy,” he added as 34 deaths were reported on Sunday.
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee had on March 23 slammed the disaster management of the West Bengal Government for failing to control the fire and directed a railway emergency team from Sealdah to assist people trapped inside the building.
“I spoke to the Defence Ministry for sending the army. The ministry has issued instructions to send the army,” Banerjee told the media at the scene of fire on Tuesday, adding that the West Bengal Government should have sought the help of the army.
Banerjee said she did not want to make a political point, and had deliberately delayed her arrival at the site so that no one would accuse her of hampering rescue efforts.
“I was keeping an eye on matters and we waited for one-and-a half hours before coming here,” she said.
West Bengal Fire and Emergency Services Minister Pratim Chatterjee had then blamed the excessive traffic for the delay in rescue efforts, adding that the death toll could rise. (ANI)
Kolkata, Mar 24 (ANI): The death toll from the fire that swept through the three floors of the multi-storied Stephen Court building on Park Street is now reported to be over 24, with several people still missing.
At least 20 people have been hospitalized and several others are reported to be in critical condition.
Over 17 burnt bodies have been recovered from the building.
“While six persons died either by jumping from the burning floors of the building, or sustaining burns during the day, 10 charred bodies were found late last night,” said fire brigade sources.
“It is not possible to say whether they were male or female. They were charred beyond recognition,” they added
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday slammed the disaster management of the West Bengal Government for failing to control the fire and directed a railway emergency team from Sealdah to assist people trapped inside the building.
“I spoke to the Defence Ministry for sending the army. The ministry has issued instructions to send the army,” Banerjee told the media at the scene of fire on Tuesday, adding that the West Bengal Government should have sought the help of the army.
Banerjee said she did not want to make a political point, and had deliberately delayed her arrival at the site so that no one would accuse her of hampering rescue efforts.
“I was keeping an eye on matters and we waited for one-and-a half hours before coming here,” she said.
West Bengal Fire and Emergency Services Minister Pratim Chatterjee blamed the excessive traffic for the delay in rescue efforts, adding that the death toll could rise.
There was utter confusion on Tuesday as an attempt was being carried out to find out in which floor of the building did the fire broke out with panic gripping those trapped inside. (ANI)
Emergency service crews from Bunbury are heading to Perth to help authorities deal with a backlog of calls for help after yesterday’s freak storm hit the city, causing widespread damage.
Five State Emergency Service crews will help in the clean up after the storm dumped heavy rain and hail on the city, smashing car windows, flooding roads and causing widespread power blackouts during peak hour traffic.
Emergency service personnel say it is the worst storm damage they have seen for 16 years.
Marisa Chapman from Western Power says more than 95,000 customers around the city remain without power.
She says it is one of the worst storms the city has seen.
“Certainly, the only one that would be close to an equivalent would be 1994, I think there were about 60,000 homes that were affected, but we had about half the population, so it’s a bit difficult to compare, but certainly it’s one of the worst storms that Western Power has faced,” she said.
The Fire and Emergency Services Authority says so far there has been no reported damage in the south-west.
However, a Bunbury man was lucky to escape injury after being struck by lightning.
The man, known as John, says lightning struck a calculator in his pocket.
“Just as I left the house I’ve never heard a crack of thunder like it in my life, I had this calculator in my pocket and it actually hit it and it jumped out of my bloody pocket,” he said.
Emergency service authorities are continuing to assess the damage from a freak storm which has created widespread chaos across the metropolitan area.
Tens of thousands of homes are still without power and many schools have been forced to close because of water damage.
The storm damage at the University of Western Australia was extensive.
Irreplaceable stained glass windows at Winthrop Hall have been smashed in and glasshouses have been destroyed.
The UWA Vice-Chancellor Allan Robson says the university was badly hit.
“We were in the eye of the storm, the hail was incredible, the rain was incredible. There was a lot of water damage, some roof damage. We’re just assessing now exactly what the damage is but it’s considerable,” he said.
The number of public schools closed because of storm damage continues to rise.
Quinns Rocks Primary School and Hollywood pre-primary and kindergarten have now been closed.
Earlier, the Education Department announced that Ocean Reef Senior High School, Shenton College, Duncraig Senior High School, Heathridge Primary School, Mindarie Senior College and Tuart College have all been closed.
Perth Modern is closed to years 8, 9 and 10.
John Twenty Third College is also closed.
The ABC has also been told students are being turned away from Tuart Hill Primary School.
Power out
Western Power says the number of homes and business without power now stands at 75,000.
At the peak of the storm, 158,000 customers were left without electricity.
That number has been progressively cut through the night, but Marissa Chapman from Western Power says some customers could be without power for an extended period, perhaps even days.
“We’re looking to get the major transmission back on, most of that back on, by 3pm this afternoon so that’s the substations and the major transmission lines,” she said.
“The low voltage network will take much much more time.”
66 sets of traffic light remain out.
Allen Gale from the Fire and Emergency Services Authority says emergency services are still struggling to respond to hundreds of calls for help.
“We had 354 calls something like 350 calls in the south. Most of the calls have been related to water damage or collapsed ceilings.
“In the north, apart from that sort of damage, we’ve also had a reports of hailstones damaging skylights and a lot of cars were damaged too.”
The Western Australian Government says the bushfire season has been extended until at least April 14.
The Minister for Emergency Services, Rob Johnson, told Parliament the extension is due to high fire danger created by an especially dry and hot summer.
By prolonging the bushfire season the Fire and Emergency Services Authority can continue operating with full resources.
Mr Johnson says the season could be extended even further depending on conditions.
A 50 year old woman has died in a house fire at Mandurah, south of Perth.
Firefighters were called to the property in Hancock Street just after 04:30 this morning.
They say the roof of the home collapsed before they could extinguish the blaze.
ABC reporter Oliver Peterson says neighbours entered the house this morning but there was a lot of smoke and the flames were out of control.
He says the neighbours told him they could not save the woman who lived on her own in the house.
Mike Veen from the Fire and Emergency Services Authority says it is too early to determine how the fire started.
“Unfortunately the house was fully involved, a brick and tile house.”
“There was a total roof collapse and currently we have the fire and investigation officer, police and ambulance in attendance.”
Police say investigations into the cause of the fire and the identity of the deceased are continuing.
Firefighters have spent the night mopping up after a blaze that destroyed 700 hectares of bushland and threatened homes in Albany.
The fire is under control after crews spent yesterday putting in containment lines and extinguishing spot fires.
Roads were closed and many residents evacuated their homes.
The Fire and Emergency Services Authority’s Murray Hatton says no houses were damaged.
“One shed has been impacted but no homes, no livestock losses, so we’re looking at that to be a pretty positive outcome.”
Chief bushfire control officer Ross Fenwick says favourable weather conditions prevented major property damage with a change in wind conditions and rain on Saturday night a welcome relief.
“Certainly the weather saved us from the potential impact on some of these houses.”
“I’m still confident we would have been able to control it and save lives and property but it certainly gave us a bit of breathing space to enable us to reorganise and concentrate on it coming back from the south west.”
Mr Fenwick says he is happy with the outcome.
“It was a pretty smooth and seamless operation involving three agencies, we had both FESA, DEC and local government involved.”
“By and large it all ran pretty well, no homes damaged and no lives lost.”
Crews will continue to monitor the fire which is still burning but is contained.
Ignored
Police say they are disappointed with people who ignored road blocks during the fire.
The fire forced the closure of several roads around the Albany suburb of Robinson.
Senior Sergeant Derek Grimes says while most residents did the right thing, some forced their way past police to access their homes.
“The majority of the public were very good however police have got concerns with a number of members of the public who were very argumentative with police either phoning the station, demanding to go through or actually at the scene at the roadblocks.”
“We had one driver which actually had stopped and spoken to police and then drove right round police, around the road block and into the flames of the fire.”
FESA Regional Duty Coordinator Murray Hatton says a community meeting will be held this afternoon to discuss how the fire was handled.
“At this time, it’s appropriate for us to look to get the community together to look at what was and perhaps what will be over the next few days, to inform the community as to the reasons for actions and outcomes that have taken place and to look for any lessons that could be learnt out of this.”
A bushfire is threatening homes in the WA Great Southern city of Albany, with the Fire and Emergency Services Authority fighting flames as high as ten metres high.
Sixty firefighters, two water bombing planes and a helicopter are battling the blaze. Police say the fire has slowed, but is likely to burn through the night.
Homes in Boolgana Close subdivision, Robinson, Little Grove and Princess Avenue are likely to be impacted by fire very soon.
The fire started when a motorcyclist crashed his bike on Sandpatch road at 10:00am (AWST). He was taken to hospital with minor injuries.
Firefighters are advising people living in that area to leave now, or if they are planning to use their home as a shelter to make final preparations.
Evacuation centres have been set up at the Albany Leisure and Aquatic Centre and the Princess Royal Sailing Club.
The Fire and Emergency Service’s regional duty officer, Murray Hatton, says firefighters are preparing for a busy night.
However, he says the Weather Bureau has also forecast rain.
“The unfortunate reality for us is that the forecast that has just been issued by the Bureau of Meteorology suggests the the winds will turn later on in the evening back to a west-north-westerly breeze, which would put some pressure in that area,” he said.
“Obviously we hope for the best but we have to plan for the worst, so we’d love to see 5 millimetres in this area, but we’re basing our plans on that won’t happen, so no surprises in this game.
“We’ve forcibly evacuated no-one and don’t plan to at this stage, but for others who think it could all get a bit too hard for them then we’ve advised them to make their way to the evacuation centres if that’s their choice.”
People living in other parts of Little Grove are being advised to put a bushfire survival plan into action.
Firefighters have closed Princess Avenue, Scrub Bird Road, Sand Patch Road and Frenchman Bay Road is closed at lower Denmark Road intersection and the Little Grove shop.
Little Grove resident Ray Cleland, stuck at a road block on lower Denmark Road, says she cannot access her home.
“We were just returning home from shopping and came round and found the road block,” she said.
“Initially we thought there was an accident on the railway here with all this smoke and everything else around, but they’ve closed the roads down and we can’t get home.
“When we left it was fine but now we don’t know. Hopefully it was far enough away that we shouldn’t have to worry, but the thickness of the smoke, we don’t know which way the fire is going. It’s just a sit and wait game.”
Meanwhile, authorities are planning to transport 100 tourists visiting local attraction Whale World back to the City via ferry.
Whale World manager Greg Russell says people are in good spirits.
“They are anxious to get back to town, they are anxious to get back in before night and of course they’re concerned for any property they’ll have to leave behind, but generally they’re in good spirits,” he said.
The city is also hosting more than 3,000 motorbike enthusiasts for the Ulysses Club Annual General Meeting.
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