Thomas Foods boss reveals his anguish as he praises heroic worker’s act that saved 900 workers from Murray Bridge abattoir fire

THE boss of Thomas Foods has for the first time revealed that a heroic female worker saved 900 lives based only on a “hunch” when their Murray Bridge factory caught fire in January. But she doesn’t want public recognition for her decisive action because she’s “really struggling” in the aftermath of the devastating blaze.

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AN “absolute hero” acted on a hunch and ordered an evacuation that potentially saved the lives of 900 people from a fire at a Murray Bridge factory.

Managing director Darren Thomas has revealed the dramatic twist that occurred as fire spread through the Thomas Foods abattoir and processing facility at Murray Bridge on January 3.

He said the young female worker took decisive action.

“She made a call to evacuate the plant before any of the smoke detectors, any of the equipment went off,” he said.

“It was just a hunch — she was trained and she removed 900 people. She is an absolute, absolute hero. But to her, she is really struggling at the moment. I have spoken to her regularly, we’ve organised appropriate counsel.

“There were 900 people in that facility, we could have been sitting there with 900 funerals.

It is the first time Mr Thomas has publicly revealed his daily struggle after the day when “20 years of my life’s work and the company’s lifework went up in smoke”.

Darren Thomas has publicly revealed his daily struggle after the day when “20 years of my life’s work and the company’s lifework went up in smoke”.

The young employee, who has not been named, is being offered counselling as she deals with her mental anguish and guilt over feelings that she could have done more.

“Here is the hero in my eyes, I have told her she is a hero, but she is struggling today,” Mr Thomas said.

Sparks from a welder being used on an offal bin had ignited material and the blaze burned for more than a week.

In one of the biggest fires at a business in South Australian history, the abattoir’s boning room — a vital cog in the production chain — was destroyed.

“The person that started the fire — how do you think he felt — complete absolute accident but how do you think they felt seeing 20 years of my life, my father’s life, our employees’ hard work go up in flames,” Mr Thomas said.

Darren Thomas with abattoir workers at a barbecue in Murray Bridge after the fire. Picture:Russell Millard/AAP

“I rang him two days later ... and he said ‘the thing that’s has helped me the most is that you were talking about the mistakes you have made. That one word just made me feel so much better because it was a mistake’.

“I told him that it was just a horrible, tragic accident.”

When the Thomases took over the plant in 1999, it had 300 employees and was processing 300 head of cattle and 2000 sheep.

When it burned down, it employed 1500 people in double shifts and was the biggest multispecies plant in the world and was two minor projects away from a multimillion-dollar upgrade.

Murray Bridge meatworks up in flames

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“And it burnt down before our eyes,” Mr Thomas said. He was speaking at an event to highlight mental health awareness, revealing his own personal struggles since the fire.

“I write a daily blog which I share with my staff, because I want to remember how I got through this experience.”

“It’s showing me and making me vulnerable. To make them know that I am there as well — and it’s not easy.

“It’s a tragic event and the one thing I am grateful for is that there were no injuries. It’s a significant event. It’s one of the single biggest claims in insurance outside mining in Australia for over a decade.

“It’s not easy. We had to make hard decisions ... I am a compassionate human being like most of you, but we had to make them.”

Some of the seasonal staff had to be axed, but Mr Thomas said all remaining 900 staff had been offered a position at Lobethal where the shifts were doubled within 10 days of the fire.

He said the family was rebuilding the facility and working towards getting it back to being the “jewel in the crown it was”.

“I have my days ... how am I going to get through this, how am I going to get up the next day.”

The support of staff, the emergency services, the local and state governments had helped the company through the tragedy.

“Even when you are hero, you can still have issues. That’s my biggest learning. We need to be aware that even heroes have issues, even leaders have struggles.”