Emergency crews reveal cause of Berrimah warehouse fire that caused millions of dollars damage

The cause of a warehouse fire that destroyed millions of dollars worth of medical supplies has been revealed. Read what happened.

The cause of a warehouse fire that destroyed millions of dollars’ worth of medical supplies has been revealed.

The fire broke out on August 23 and was finally extinguished earlier this week after smouldering for several days.

The majority of the building was severely damaged after a large portion of the roof collapsed.

As a result fire crews had limited access to the building in the early stages.

They have since been able to determine the source of the blaze was a malfunction of an electrical item.

Acting Deputy Chief Fire Officer Joshua Fischer said the cause of the fire was not suspicious and instead accidental.

“The source of the fire was a malfunction of an electrical item,” he said.

“I’d like to thank our JESCC staff who received numerous calls regarding the incident and our career firefighters who worked tirelessly to protect neighbouring assets so that the fire did not spread.”

Status of Berrimah warehouse investigation revealed

NT Police are continuing to investigate the cause of a major fire that destroyed a medical supplies warehouse in Berrimah.

The fire broke out on August 23 and was extinguished this week after smouldering for a number of days.

An NT Police spokeswoman said the cause of the fire was unknown and investigations into how it started were under way.

“At this point in time there are currently no indications of (a) suspicious cause of fire,” she said.

“The length of the investigation is unknown at this time.”

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It is understood the building was extensively damaged and may have to be demolished.

“The majority of the building is severely damaged and a large portion of the roof has collapsed, the remaining may have to be pulled down,” the spokeswoman said.

This week the Code Yellow at Royal Darwin Hospital was also lifted.

“NT Health is continuing to respond to the incident and has transitioned into a phased recovery,” an NT Health spokesman said.

“All supplies at Royal Darwin, Palmerston, Katherine and Gove hospitals have been replenished.”

Code Yellow enforced at Top End hospitals

THE Code Brown imposed on Top End hospitals has been lifted following a fire that gutted a warehouse full of essential medical supplies.

However, Royal Darwin and Katherine hospitals will remain in a Code Yellow for the next 24 hours “to enable a co-ordinated response as medical supplies are replenished to make sure there are no impacts to service delivery or patient care”.

NT Health said replacement medical stock started arriving on Tuesday, with more expected on Wednesday.

It is understood 60 per cent of the supply lines will be refilled over the next three days.

Local and interstate suppliers were utilised in delivering immediate supplies.

Initial stocktakes conducted revealed there was enough stock to last three days following the fire and the stock affected was consumables such as bandages, gloves and cleaning supplies.

CONCERN FOR TOP END HOSPITAL SUPPLIES

THE NT’s medical supply stocks have taken a “major blow” after a serious blaze over the weekend, with an Incident Management Team now scrambling to secure and stocktake equipment before hospitals and clinics run out.

And a leading medical boss says it could be made difficult with an already-stretched supply of equipment across the country.

A whopping $30m worth of damage was sustained after a fire broke out at a warehouse in Berrimah on Sunday, affecting the medical equipment supply of Royal Darwin, Palmerston, Katherine and Gove District hospitals.

The type of equipment affected included disposable sheets for surgery, plasters, gloves and cleaning supplies.

No pharmaceuticals were lost in the blaze.

Australian Medical Association NT branch president Dr Robert Parker said it would be difficult to acquire replacements for the medical supplies lost with pressure already on those supplies across Australia.

“Apart from the cost to the NT health budget we now have the challenge of being able to find replacements,” he said.

“It will be hard to get supplies for ongoing use with an already stretched supply, with the war in Ukraine and other issues going on in Europe.”

NTFES at the blaze in Berrimah. Picture: Glenn Campbell

Dr Parker said the Top End health system would now have to adapt to the Code Brown called on Sunday in response to the damage.

A Code Brown acknowledges a significant event that has occurred externally and that could impact the hospital system.

It is expected to last 24 to 48 hours while authorities take stock of what has been impacted.

“They’ll look at how long it’s going to take (to secure stock) and it could probably mean cancelling elective surgery,” he said.

However Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said all the hospitals have around three days worth of supply and no care services have been affected.

“Our hospitals remain open and if you have an emergency you should still attend hospital,” she said.

“At this stage there has been no impact on patient care.”

Ms Fyles said more stock was due to arrive on Wednesday.

“It’s just identifying what possible gaps there might be and whether we get that from local suppliers or interstate,” she said.

“Our health teams are now working through what do our other warehouses have, what do the hospitals have,” Ms Fyles said.

Royal Darwin Hospital nursing and midwifery head Kylee St George said all departments of the hospitals had been impacted by the fire.

“Each area would have some element of stock out at that facility, so it’s very reassuring that no areas had to change what they do to deliver patient care,” she said.

She said the public should feel confident there are enough supplies to go around for the time being.

“So we have until Wednesday to put in contingency plans on ensuring our current position that no patient care or staff ability to perform their duties will be affected,” she said.

It is not yet known where the replacement supplies will come from.

“Everyone is working through to make sure we’ve got the time and the capacity to move resources around the NT and doing anything additional that we think we might need,” Ms St George said.