Building Fire, Winery, Pokolbin
Published: 17th January 2008
At 8.30 am NSW Fire Brigades received 000 calls to an explosion at a Winery in Pokolbin. Firefighters from Cessnock, Bellbird, Kearsley, Newcastle along with a number of RFS units rushed to the site. On arrival, firefighters were confronted with a large building on fire along with reports of people missing. Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus and utilising many hose lines, set about searching for the missing people and fighting the fire. Firefighters successfully protected and saved the surrounding buildings and a number of gas cylinders that were in danger from the fire. Sadly, two people were found deceased and one person, suffering severe burns, was flown to hospital by the Westpac Rescue Helicopter. Firefighters extinguished the fire, conducted cylinder temperature readings and completed atmospheric testing before the investigation to the cause could begin. The investigation is being conducted by the Fire Investigation Unit, Police Forensic and Crime Scene Investigators and Workcover officials.