DECEMBER 12, 2018 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
NEWS + SPORT + THE WEST’S BEST PROPERTY GUIDE
Factory’s dire history By Benjamin Millar
Top: The Tottenham warehouse fire filled the air with toxic smoke. (Marco De Luca) Above: These images, taken three weeks before the fire, show no signs of chemical storage. (Pictures: EPA)
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are getting impatient” regarding the inspection. A joint inspection by council officers and EPA took place on August 9, noting the previous tenant was continuing to clean out the site, with an “application in for next possible tenant (still intending for recycling materials)” still being assessed. The document noted that although the EPA and planning department no longer planned any enforcement action, council’s building
department remained concerned about compliance. Photographs taken during the August 9 inspection reveal shipping containers stacked into dividing corridors, along with piles of timber pallets and equipment, but no sign of the vast quantity of 44-gallon drums found by firefighters as they tackled the fire. The MFB and Victoria Police are treating the fire as suspicious.
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July site inspection that revealed high piles of recycling materials inside the warehouse. “These sites are deemed to be at high risk. The EPA would like to do a joint inspection with a Council Planning Enforcement Officer,” it stated. An email trail shows the EPA contacted the council on July 17 seeking to co-ordinate the joint inspection. A July 30 internal council email noted “EPA 1182408-CG18-15
The Tottenham warehouse where a massive blaze broke out in August had a history of failing to comply with fire safety laws and was “a danger to the life” of residents and occupants, according to internal Maribyrnong council documents. The documents, released under Freedom of Information laws and seen by Star Weekly, show Maribyrnong council served the owner with a building notice in 2017 demanding they address a range of breaches regarding illegal structures and multiple fire safety failures. Released to former western suburbs Greens MP Huong Truong, the documents also contain photographic evidence indicating that the large number of drums of chemical waste that fuelled the fire had been moved onto the site during the three weeks before the blaze. A coronial investigation is underway into the August 30 inferno, which sent a plume of toxic smoke over the western suburbs, contaminated nearby Stony Creek and triggered health complaints across the inner-west. The warehouse is owned by Danbol Pty Ltd, a company registered to Shepparton accountant Christopher James Baldwin. Star Weekly does not suggest Mr Baldwin, who did not respond to requests for comment, has done anything illegal. Maribyrnong council had inspected 420 Somerville Road, Tottenham in February 2017, uncovering what it claimed were illegal building works and a series of dangerous hazards. A building notice was served on the owner in July 2017, demanding compliance with the relevant building and safety laws. “The building/land is a danger to the life, safety or health of any member of the public or any person using the building/land,” it stated. “The buildings are not provided with an adequate fire hose reels coverage [or] an adequate fire sprinkler system coverage.” The council noted inadequate access for fire fighting vehicles and failure to provide a suitable emergency plan. There was no record of any maintenance checks or servicing of fire fighting equipment. The council found the property had been illegally subdivided without complying with regulations for fire resistance and access, while fire hydrants were also found to have been obstructed. An internal council document from August this year noted the Environment Protection Authority had raised concerns following a
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