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AFTERMATH: Damage to the old jetty from a fire on the first day of demolition.
Thursday, September 12, 2019
The City of Whyalla is confident yesterday’s jetty fire will not have any great impact on the overall project to build an innovative new structure for the city.
Whyalla Mayor Clare McLaughlin and CEO Chris Cowley received a briefing from the project builders Maritime Constructions today following a fire sparked by ‘hot work’ on the first day of demolition. Maritime Constructions is conducting a full investigation into the incident and assessing the state of the old jetty in conjunction with Council, SafeWork SA and the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA).
Mayor McLaughlin said, from her debriefing with Maritime Constructions, she was confident the project wouldn’t be unnecessarily delayed with a completion date of mid-next year still on the cards.
KEEPING EVERYONE INFORMED: Mayor Clare McLaughlin and CEO Chris Cowley front the media today to declare yesterday's fire will have no major impact on the jetty project.
The Mayor was one of the first on the scene at yesterday’s fire where she checked on staff from the construction company and Council staff who assisted in the fire-fighting efforts.
“Maritime Constructions has assured us that no workers were injured during this fire and all have been counselled to make sure they are okay after the incident,” Mayor McLaughlin said.
“Today they were working with a team from SafeWork SA and had already abided by one order to close access to the jetty until a structural report is completed.
“They (Maritime Constructions) have also assured us they will be putting divers in the water to recover any plastic that fell to the seabed and generally clean up the site.”
A spokesperson from Maritime Constructions confirmed the fire wouldn’t have a major impact on the project timelines for demolition and construction. He said all necessary safety regulations had been abided by leading up to the incident.
THOROUGH INVESTIGATION: Maritime Construction staff accompany SafeWork SA inspectors during their investigations on the jetty yesterday.
Hot works permits had been issued, Safe Work Method Statements prepared, and spotters were assisting those undertaking the hot works activities at the time of the incident. Workers had access to life jackets and used two fire extinguishers and water buckets in an attempt to stop the blaze.
“Tomorrow we will have a structural engineer view and assess the old jetty and we imagine he’ll recommend a revised methology for the rest of the demolition,” the spokesperson said.
“They (Maritime Constructions) have also assured us they will be putting divers in the water to recover any plastic that fell to the seabed and generally clean up the site.” Mayor McLaughlin
“The most obvious step is the removal of these flammable planks from the structure before we do anything else.
“Beyond that we just need to wait for the engineer’s assessment, feedback from the EPA and Safe Work SA before we start work again.
“We hope that work will start again in another couple of days.”
STRIPPED: The end of the jetty after yesterday's fire.
The Maritime Constructions spokesperson also gave reassurances on the environment and clean-up of the site. He said divers will be going into the water to clean up the molten plastic that fell off the jetty and generally clean up the area.
“We will have divers cleaning up any plastic from the seabed once we continue with demolition activities,” the spokesperson said.
Any enquiries on this project, or others, can be made by calling Council on 8640 3444 during office hours, by submitting a customer enquiry on our website http://www.whyalla.sa.gov.au/page.aspx or via the free My Local Services app which can be downloaded at https://www.lga.sa.gov.au/mylocalservices
BLAZE: Firefighters battle the fire on the old jetty on Wednesday.