Huge fire on old Whyalla jetty forces man to jump into water
A man who leapt off the Whyalla jetty to escape a huge fire accidentally set off by tradies was rescued by police when the current brought him back to the burning jetty.
SA News
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This is the moment an off-duty policeman rescued a welder, who jumped into the ocean for his own safety after the Whyalla jetty caught fire yesterday.
The blaze, which ripped through about 75m of the jetty’s plastic decking, was thought to have started by sparks from an angle grinder during demolition works. The welder leapt into the water to escape the fire and smoke.
Maritime Constructions is demolishing the 150m-long jetty, as part of Whyalla Council’s plans to build a new $7.8 million structure that it hopes will become a drawcard for locals and tourists.
An SA Police spokesman said at just after 12.30pm, the welder was working at the end of the jetty when material caught fire, spreading to the structure.
“He jumped into the water and inflated a life jacket he was wearing, and attempted to swim away, but the current was too strong and making it difficult for the man to swim away from the jetty,” the spokesman said.
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A police officer from Port Lincoln who was in town for a training course rushed to help, while on his lunch break.
“A police officer … saw the man in distress, and swam out to the welder to guide him safely back to shore, while other officers evacuated the other workers on the jetty to safety,” he said.
Metropolitan Fire Services crews took 30 minutes to contain the blaze.
The jetty is being demolished to make way for a new one, stretching 165m into the ocean and featuring a 145m circular “loop” boardwalk.
Maritime Constructions has also been contracted to build the new jetty.
Whyalla chief executive Chris Cowley yesterday said the fire, while “regrettable”, was contained within the construction site.
He said there were no reported injuries and did not believe residents were endangered by the smoke.
“This appears to be an unfortunate workplace incident that has resulted in a fairly significant fire,” Mr Cowley said.
“We will seek a debrief from Maritime Constructions on the reasons for this fire and seek further assurances that all safety measures are being observed in the demolition and construction to ensure there are no more incidents of this nature.
“We’d like to thank the fire crews and police that acted so quickly to put this fire out and ensure the safety of everyone in Whyalla.”
The council said it was too early to say whether the blaze would impact the project’s time frame. It had hoped to begin work on the new jetty before Christmas and open it early next year.
