General News
6 March, 2026
Swift action from CFA
COUNTRY Fire Authority (CFA) brigades from across the Camperdown area were praised for their quick work in extinguishing a fire on Tuesday night.
A fire broke out in the roof of the abattoir on Purrumbete Estate Road in Koallah at around 8.55pm, with brigades responding quickly.
CFA District Six acting assistant chief fire officer Peter Lockwood said attending brigades called for more tankers, pumps and breathing apparatus to tackle the fire.
In total, there were 20 CFA and Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) units, including two pumpers, an aerial appliance and a rehabilitation unit.
“The crews on site did an absolutely fantastic job,” Mr Lockwood said.
“We called in the assistance of FRV from Warrnambool and Ballarat with their aerial trap due to the shed roof buckling and being unsafe to enter.
“We used the aerial truck to then look for hotspots in the roof area.
“The cause of the fire is currently under investigation but is deemed not suspicious – we’ll get an outcome from our fire investigators in due course.
“Outstanding work to the crews on field to be able to knock the fire down so quickly – I responded from Colac and by the time I got there the fire was well and truly knocked out.”
Mr Lockwood said the work of the local brigades who were first on scene prevented the fire from spreading to adjoining buildings.
“They kept it to the building of origin, but there was potential to cause further serious damage to other parts of the plant which they prevented from happening,” he said.
“It was a very good response from the local crews and hard firefighting to bring it under control so quickly.
“There was no threat to the community.
“It was in an area where there isn’t much occupancy so there was no threat to the community in regard to smoke impact.”
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