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The preliminary results of a management-initiated inspection of Metropolitan Fire Brigade’s Eastern Hill Headquarters late last week identified asbestos-containing material in the ceiling area of the building where the executive offices are located.
Air quality monitoring in that area, initiated immediately after the inspection, detected no asbestos in the air. As a precaution the Eastern Hill Office will be closed until further notice while further inspections are undertaken.
The asbestos-containing material is located at the bottom of the smoke walls, which are horizontal barriers designed to prevent the flow of smoke through the ceiling area in the case of fire. There are a number of these smoke walls within the building, and a full inspection of the roof space on each level will now be undertaken to ensure the building is in a suitable condition for occupation.
All crews and appliances at the Eastern Hill fire station, FS1, will be redeployed to the remaining four stations that service the CBD while two specialist appliances that serve greater Melbourne will be housed at stations adjacent to the CBD. There will be no reduction in fire fighting resources or capability to the City of Melbourne as a result.
Regular updates will be provided as the situation changes.