Apollo Bay double emergency

In the same month Apollo Bay Fire Brigade dealt with two of the worst incidents in the brigade’s history. On 3 April there was a chlorine leak at Apollo Bay Aquatic Centre. Of the 21 people needing treatment, five needed urgent medical attention. Apollo Bay Firefighter and Incident Controller Aaron Melrose said it was like a war zone. “Arriving on scene, we’d been briefed on what to expect but it can never prepare you for that type of scene,” Aaron explained. “It was confronting. There were multiple patients involved and one was unconscious. “Being a rescue unit, we are trained to respond to highly traumatic situations, but I’ve never responded to an incident as chaotic as this. “Ambulance Victoria was already on scene when we arrived at 10.51am. I sent a crew in breathing apparatus to sweep and secure the building. We then started triaging the patients. After assessment I escalated the situation through Fire Com to receive six additional ambulances and called the rostered duty coordinator to put out a local community warning. “Around an hour into the job the last few patients were being lifted into the ambulances. By this time extra crews from Wye River and Colac CFA brigades and Fire Rescue Victoria arrived so we set up an exclusion zone. “We pulled back about 400 metres away and set up a staging area for the oncoming crews and hazmat team. We sent in an additional crew in BA to isolate the power. “I remember thinking just how switched on the Apollo Bay crew was, as it’s easy to get overwhelmed by a situation like that. “I can only describe it like a war zone with the number of patients laying across the scene. It’s really hard to train for something like that, but all crews across the emergency sector worked well together.” Only 11 days later, the Apollo Bay community was left shattered after a fire tore through three shops on the town’s main street. The blaze, which started in the early hours of Wednesday 14 April, destroyed the local Chinese restaurant and historic Blue Bird Cafe and badly damaged a hardware store. Driving to the station, Aaron could already see the blaze he had to face. “I don’t think anyone could imagine what would unfold that night,” Aaron said. “The fire was truly ferocious. “We arrived on scene just after 3am, six minutes after receiving the pager alert, and there were 50 to 100 people out on the street watching. Five of us were on scene first and after a quick assessment we knew the first structure couldn’t be saved. “Winds were around 50 kilometres an hour and we were just setting up protecting the exposures when a gas bottle exploded causing the fire to jump to the neighbouring building. Because of the violent winds the 38mm hoses were not effective and any water getting close was turning to steam. “Apollo Bay Captain Dave Howell upgraded to 64mm hoses which allowed us to make more of an impact. We used these for the next three hours straight. “We tried an internal attack from the eastern side, but the fire was well established in the roof and we had to make a hasty retreat as more gas bottles exploded.” The first building was vacant and two people escaped unharmed from the second building, so crews only needed to evacuate the local motel. “We were on scene for 12 hours,” Aaron added. “Crews from Wye River, Forrest and Colac brigades, plus Corangamite Group and FRV stations 63 and 62 were also on scene.” During the firefight, the brigade’s 10 crew members used 13 38mm hoses, 14 64mm hoses, and 17 BA cylinders with four members onto their fifth set. “We debriefed straight after both incidents and have had a number of follow-up sessions,” Aaron said. “It’s really important to talk through incidents and take time to process them. “The brigade is incredible, the training we have and the leadership. We’re really fortunate to have Dave as our captain. He has a calming presence and that’s the kind of leadership you need in situations like that.” Dave said the brigade has seen a recent surge in interest to join the brigade. “The last few months have been some of the busiest for our little brigade,” Dave said. “The brigade did an impressive job and we’ve now seen over 10 new applications from locals wanting to join.”

STORY HOLLY PENKETH