Authorities investigate the source of a 'suspicious' fire that broke out in an abandoned inner city church on Monday, in the midst of revelations, the site was used as a notorious squatted hotspot.
Firefighters came together on our Lady of the Assumption at Park St, in South Melbourne, within six minutes after receiving reports of the fire around 8.20 am.
By the time they arrived on stage, smoke could be seen wavy from the roof of the no longer used brick chapel while flames racing along the outside of the building.
The Fire Rescue Victoria censuses fought against the Inferno for about 40 minutes before she brought it 'under control', but stay on the spot while it is 'completely extinguished'.
“FRV censuses put on breathing equipment and started an aggressive attack on the fire, and protecting a neighboring apartment building against the fire,” said a spokesperson.
Although the cause of the fire still had to be determined, firefighters were able to trace all the trajectory of the fire through the Fire Graven Chapel.
“The fire started in a rear room of the church before it stretched in the roof space of the main chapel and has caused considerable damage to the structure,” said the spokesperson for the FrV.
The historic church was founded in 1928 and The growing Irish Catholic population of the region served for more than half a century.
But the building has fallen into disuse since the parish was closed three decades ago.
Authorities said that the case of the fire, yet unknown, is dealt with with suspicion
Fire Rescue Victoria arrived on stage within six minutes after receiving reports of the fire
The FRV spokesperson said that squatters had inhabited the building in recent years – although no one was inside when the fire broke out.
Witnesses said that members of the public hurried to help firefighters while they had trouble controlling the Inferno and Cordoedn for them from the site until the police arrived.
A local, Andrew, who ran with his dog when he remarked 'big plumes of white smoke' that wave from the old church building, said that motorists even used their cars to close the streets and prevent traffic from disturbed the fire reaction.
“The streets were filled with smoke … The fire trucks just arrived when we arrived on stage,” he said.
'Members of the public seemed to use their vehicles to block the road while people tried to control fire hoses.
Andrew, who posted images of the blaze on his Instagram page, added that some drivers were trapped for some time on an adjacent road due to fire hose lines.
“The response of the fire brigade was so fast that it seemed to catch the cars overwhelmed and the stuck.”
Commuters about South Melbourne saw the plume that is cloudy in the neighborhood
Commuters helped to close the stage before the police arrived
Angela, who works in a nearby kindergarten, said that the staff was on Tennerhooks while they “waited to see if they should evacuate.”
“We noticed the scent for the first time when we arrived around 8 am,” she said.
Police Victoria confirmed that the fire was 'treated as suspicious' and told Daily Mail Australia that a 'fire willter' would start investigating the cause of the fire on Monday afternoon.
How the fire will influence the fate of a proposed development of mixed use that is built next to the church still has to be determined.
Developed by Gurner Group promotions for the apartment complex seemed to rely on the neighboring church as a sales argument.
The group's website said that the development 'the natural balance of things' in the neighborhood would be planned by supplementing the existing orientation points.
'Proudly collaboration with Masters of Craft Fender Katsalidis and Jack Merlo, Gurner has ensured that the Heritage Church and the striking new contemporary form will remain typically' South Melbourne 'in nature,' Pende.
