THE United Firefighters Union has demanded an inquiry into the handling of a $20 million blaze it claims was "bungled" by the Country Fire Service.
More than 350 staff were left without work when a blaze gutted Port Wakefield's Primo abattoir. Most staff were later redeployed.
About 80 volunteer firefighters tried to save the abattoir when fire broke out in the offal room on February 23 last year but they were forced back by a toxic ammonia leak.
The union says the Country Fire Service waited more than an hour for its own specially trained HAZMAT crews to arrive from Burnside, rather than ask the Metropolitan Fire Service for help.
Similarly qualified MFS crews were stationed much closer – at Salisbury, Elizabeth, Angle Vale, Prospect and Port Adelaide – but were not called, the union claims.
Union president Bill Jamieson this week said the CFS knew local brigades could not cope with a fire at the abattoir, but ignored official warnings.
He said the bungle had been covered up and he demanded an inquiry into the matter.
He claimed the union had "reliable sources" who said an internal CFS report was prepared before the blaze, instructing CFS hierarchy that a fire at the abattoir would be beyond the capabilities of local volunteers.
"It was a bungle," Mr Jamieson said.
"Allegedly a risk management assessment of Primo Meats had been conducted . . . and was ignored.
"However, information won't come through whistleblowers or even an FoI (Freedom of Information) application.
"An independent inquiry is needed otherwise the mistakes of Port Wakefield will remain covered up and the emergency service won't be forced to change."
Anger over the abattoir fire follows criticism of the CFS for refusing MFS resources when a bushfire tore through Tulka, near Port Lincoln, in 2001, destroying 15 homes and forcing residents to flee into the water. The agency also was condemned for waiting too long to call for help in fighting the deadly Black Tuesday bushfire in 2005.
Documents seen by the Sunday Mail said the CFS tackled the Primo blaze without a map of the facility – even though standard procedure required a "pre-plan" of a major structure, including maps, locations of hydrants and even keys to access the building.
"Primo staff did not offer maps of the complex early," a CFS report said.
"These were provided only after the firefighting operations were complete."
Brenton Keen, a spokesman for SAFECOM – a new co-ordination centre for the CFS, MFS and SES – said the CFS responded very quickly to the Port Wakefield blaze and there was no indication MFS support would have helped save the building.
"The first vehicle was on site within four minutes," he said.
"The first crew assessed the risk and called for additional resources."
Mr Keen denied there had been no "pre-plan" of the Primo site but admitted it could have been done better.
"A multi-agency debrief is routinely conducted as part of the continued improvement of our processes and, in this case, we held a deputy chief officers forum," he said.
"As a direct result of the Primo fire, we held this forum to discuss this particular incident.
"There was a CFS pre-plan but these days, we would get the three agencies together – MFS, CFS and SES – and plan together for any significant structural fire."
The Sunday Mail asked to speak to CFS chief officer Euan Ferguson and MFS chief officer Grant Lupton, but Mr Keen said he would speak on their behalf.
Mr Keen said the new SAFECOM system, implemented last year, would prevent any problems between the fire fighting organisations.
