A POWER surge at Cowes on Phillip Island, around 8.30pm on Thursday night, October 12, has caused all sorts of problems for local fire brigades, police and ambulance.
But, in the end, the best of all possible outcomes; no one was hurt and no property was lost to fire.
Incident controller at Banfields Aged Care, where the power surge caused the most concern and inconvenience, Phillip Island CFA First Lieutenant Rhyce Davis, was pleased to report no adverse outcomes.
“We had a call out after reports of smoke coming from a transformer in Cowes (near the Phillip Island RSL in Thompson Avenue) and after dealing with that, an alarm was triggered at Woolworths,” said officer Davis.
“We responded to that but again, there wasn’t much to report.
“We then got a call from Banfields Aged Care where they also experienced some sort of power surge.”
It is believed power was off at the facility for a relatively short period of time.
Officer Davis said staff at Banfields had reported smoke and took all precautions, with an internal evacuation of 40 residents to a safe place within the facility.
No water or extinguishers were needed but with Phillip Island CFA, San Remo and Wonthaggi brigades turning out, along with an array of tankers and technical equipment, all was in readiness for any eventuality, with Ambulance Victoria also playing a role.
Firefighters used breathing apparatus and infrared cameras, and together with Ausnet technical staff, went through the process of checking all wiring in an effort to trace any damage to electrical wiring or equipment.
At no time were residents of the aged care facility or staff at any risk.
