By Callum Ludwig
A major blaze has destroyed the unoccupied old Warburton IGA building when a fire ripped through the former supermarket at about 1.44am the morning of Tuesday 14 June.
Seven CFA vehicles and volunteer firefighter crews responded, supported by Victoria Police and Ambulance Victoria. No one was injured in the incident.
A Victoria Police spokesperson said the cause of the fire is yet to be determined.
“A crime scene guard is currently in place and an arson chemist will attend later today,” they said.
“The investigation is ongoing.”
Lieutenant at Warburton CFA Ron McIntosh said the building was pretty much completely burned to the ground.
“It’s gone, completely gone. We had one bad thing [in losing the old IGA building] but we also had one really good thing, we had a fantastic win in the fact that the adjoining Warburton Pharmacy we managed to save completely bar a little electrical damage on the outside of the building,” he said.
“We only just got back to the station just before 10am to get the trucks ready to go out again.”
The incident was declared under control at 3.07am, with crews remaining on the scene until about 9am.
“Crews required the assistance of plant to help extinguish the blaze completely,” a CFA spokesperson said.
“The scene has been handed over to VicPol, with fire investigation requested to determine the cause of the blaze.”
Owner of the Warburton IGA Shane Wyles, whose current building is across the street from the old one, said he was in shock at the news.
“I got a phone call about three o’clock from the captain of the Reefton CFA this morning, and I asked how bad it was and if the pharmacy was okay,” he said.
“I’ve spoken with the owner of the pharmacy building and been across to the site and looked at it from the outside, and it was a bit distressing, the building is totally gutted and only the front facade appears to still be in place.”
The Warburton Pharmacy lost power and suffered scorch marks on the adjoining side of the building.
Mr McIntosh said Warburton residents and business owners should remain vigilant.
“Think about who’s around the area and get security cameras. Hopefully, they’ll get something off the security cameras that are around the streets at the moment and figure out how it happened,” he said.
“Just be vigilant about people around and then if they look suspicious, ring the police and get them to come and pay them a little visit.”
