Residents of Altona North were thrown into panic early Saturday morning when a fire broke out at an abandoned child care center.
The facility was situated in the same block as the Holy Dormition of the Virgin Mary church and the new facilities of the Hobsons Bay Greek Orthodox Community, which include the Greek Centre hall, the Greek school, and the new childcare center.
The abandoned child care center, which had recently been handed over to developers for the area’s redevelopment, was not owned by the Community at the time of the fire.
Emergency services responded to the blaze on Millers Road at 1.30am Saturday. Firefighting crews took more than an hour to bring the fire under control. Christos Dimitriou, president of the Hobsons Bay Greek Orthodox Community, told Neos Kosmos that approximately 50 fire trucks arrived at the scene, surrounding the area to prevent the fire from spreading to adjacent buildings and the nearby shopping center.
“A crane was used to spray water from above towards the shopping center side,” said Dimitriou.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire, which is considered suspicious.
“The site had been abandoned for four years, with no electricity or flammable materials that could justify the building’s ignition,” Dimitriou said, explaining that “the owners of the childcare center had left some beds and mattresses that children used.
“This attracted some homeless individuals, mainly users, who found a way to enter the building from the back by making a hole in the fence separating it from the shopping center. It is believed that due to the cold that night, they lit a fire to keep warm, which got out of control with these disastrous results.”
Police conducted a thorough search of the site for potential victims but found none.
Parents’ concern for Greek School
As expected, the incident caused concern among many parents whose children attend the nearby Greek school. Dimitriou assured that all necessary checks had been carried out by the relevant authorities and there was no cause for concern.
“Special firefighting crews conducted air measurements and confirmed that everything is clear and there is no reason for concern.
Therefore, the school, the church, the new childcare center, and the Greek Centre hall are safe and will operate as normal.”
It was announced that the area would soon be cleared of the debris from the completely destroyed former childcare center.
The flames melted even the iron bars of the building’s roof.
The fire ravaged the abandoned childcare center in Altona North, leaving only the brick walls standing.
