Rosebery fire on Tasmania’s west coast ‘burned down essential accomodation amid housing shortage’
28 December 2022
Published by: https://www.abc.net.au
AUSTRALIA – Essential accommodation for mine workers on Tasmania’s west coast has been destroyed in a bushfire that raged through the small community of Rosebery.
The blaze scorched just under four hectares on the outskirts of the town on Tuesday afternoon, fanned by high temperatures and dry conditions.
Despite efforts of around 40 firefighters and three firefighting aircraft, the Mount Black Lodge hotel accommodation, formerly the town’s hospital, was lost.
Debbie Ormord, who has owned the lodge for five years, said she was “shattered”.
“Just the thought of it breaks me,” she said.
“I didn’t think that it would burn the lodge. It just happened so quick.
“My cleaner could see the flames coming up to the lodge, so she quickly jumped in the car and went to the lodge and knocked on all the doors.”
Ms Ormord said the lodge was being used as accommodation for workers from the nearby MMG mine, and also accommodated for tourists, including one who lost their passport and possessions in the blaze.
“It was really rundown when I purchased it and I poured a lot of money into it. I did up all the accommodation, repainted inside, new linen, painted the outside and restored it,” she said.
She said she was not sure what she would do going forward.
“I would love to rebuild but I am not sure we have the money to really build it to what it was,” she said.
“It seems like there is great community spirit in the town, that’s probably the one good thing that comes out of these situations.”
West Coast Mayor Shane Pitt said it was a “big loss”, with the region already facing a housing shortage.
“Most of our accommodation places are booked out, so it may be a big issue for the Rosebery mine,” he said.
“It is something the west coast has been dreading. We never know what might be around the corner.”
The fire came close to the mine itself, leaving it without power and forcing operations to be suspended.
‘We’ve lost a great piece of history’
Closer to the town’s centre, the local heritage centre was severely damaged.
Ruth Mawer, who has lived in Rosebery for 20 years, said the fire got into the roof of the building.
“A lot of our history photos of the town, our old newspapers. They were either damaged by fire or damaged by water. It looks like we are going to lose the lot.
“There wasn’t any warning. We didn’t have any warning at all. We saw smoke and then the next thing you know it was all alight.
“We’ve lost a great piece of history of the town.”
A watch and act alert was issued just after 2pm, warning residents to prepare to leave, before the warning was later downgraded to “threat is reduced” level.
Shane Batt from the Tasmania Fire Service said a review would be conducted, as with any fire of this nature.
“We rely very heavily on the information that comes from the fire ground, sometimes that can be delayed because they are doing everything they possibly can at that moment,” he said.
“We are not going to make second guesses to issue emergency warnings and then create more panic within the community unless they are absolutely warranted.
“If there are some learnings to come out then we will address those.”
Blaze’s cause still being determined
Tasmania’s Premier Jeremy Rockliff described it as an “intense blaze” which came “perilously close” to the Rosebery Medical Centre.
“The health centre remains standing due to the very good work from TFS and SES personnel,” he said.
Two staff members and one patient were evacuated from the centre, which sits next to the Mount Black Lodge.
The Department of Health is assessing the facility, which is closed after being damaged by smoke.
The GP practice has temporarily relocated to the Neighbourhood Centre as a result.
The cause of the blaze is still being determined.
“A lot of talking to local people, information from the initial people that reported the fire. People have taken photos early in the piece so we will be getting all of those as well to paint a picture,” Tasmania Fire Service investigator Shayne Andrews said.
“We’ll have a look at the vegetation to see where the fire started from and then we will see where it spread to.”
Warning to prepare for the remainder of the season
Tasmania’s west was forecast to experience above-normal fire potential this summer, following continued dry conditions.
Tony Wood from the Tasmania Fire Service said the west coast will be an area of concern for the remainder of the fire season.
“This is a bit of a wake-up for our communities that summer is upon us and we really need to be alert and aware,” he said.
“It only takes a few days and it dries out significantly. Especially in the south-west, the rainfall is moderating and it is not what it use to be historically.”
But he said fire crews were ready to respond when needed.
“We had crews from all over the region make their way to Rosebery. The firefighters did a fantastic job and they were faced with a significant event, very overwhelming but they persevered.”
