Photo: 7News Australia // YouTube
The Haydenshapes surfboard factory in the Sydney suburb of Mona Vale was destroyed in a fire Saturday. Stoked by the flammable materials required in surfboard-making, an intense flash fire broke out that quickly threatened to spread to adjoining businesses.
Around 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, around 18 fire trucks were called in response to reports of a medium-sized factory fire at the Haydenshapes’ factory. According to the Northern Beaches Advocate, 70 firefighters battled the blaze for hours, using cherry pickers to douse the flames from above. The fire was finally brought under control and firefighters narrowly managed to prevent the blaze from spreading to adjacent businesses.
One Haydenshapes factory worker was taken to the hospital with singed hair and minor burns to his neck and arms. He has been the only reported injury, with the rest of the people working inside the building having been successfully evacuated.
Due to potentially toxic fumes, businesses within a 100-meter radius of the fire were temporarily evacuated and nearby residents warned to close their windows to keep out smoke. After the blaze was quelled, hazmat crews ensured the safety of gas canisters on the side of the building and prevented runoff from the firefighting efforts from re-entering local waterways.
“We’ve managed to stop the fire spreading into the neighboring properties, which was an excellent result because there wasn’t much separation between the buildings,” a Fire and Rescue NSW spokesperson said.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, and an investigation is still underway.
