The blaze, which reportedly commenced in the building’s roof, has completely destroyed the double-storey Eastern Suburbs Shopfitters’ store front as well as the showroom, factory and offices.
Superintendent Ian Krimmer said that cause of fire was believed to not be not suspicious and is being treated as accidental while investigations continue.
The floor and roof of the building collapsed due to the fire damage while surrounding timber businesses including Wayne’s World Timber and Building Supplies and Hardman Timber Joinery have narrowly missed being damaged by the blaze.
Fire fighters were called to the business at approximately 12:15 pm on Monday 30 December 2015 after the fire commenced in the building’s roof.
The fire closed busy Botany Road for eight hours on Monday 30 November and caused significant delays. It continued to burn overnight and final hot spots were extinguished Tuesday morning.
Superintendent Krimmer said “The fire generated a significant amount of smoke because of materials inside the factory including timber, glue and paint.”
He added that timber businesses such as joinery, shop fitters and merchants, could safeguard themselves from fire by “implementing good housekeeping practices”.
“By making sure your timber business is tidy and that you have an effective sawdust extraction process in place, as well as exercising good caution when using electrical equipment including saws and grinders that can cause sparks, then incidents like this one can possibly be avoided,” Superintendent Krimmer said.
He added that businesses need to ensure that fire extinguishers are on site and that staff are well trained in the buildings evacuation and emergency plans.
