Authorities are investigating the source of a ‘suspicious’ blaze that broke out in an abandoned inner-city church on Monday amid revelations the site was being used as a notorious squatting hotspot.
Firefighters converged on Our Lady of the Assumption on Park St, in South Melbourne, within six minutes of receiving reports of the fire about 8.20am.
By the time they arrived on the scene, smoke could be seen billowing from the roof of the disused, brick chapel while flames raced along the outside of the building.
The Fire Rescue Victoria crews battled the inferno for about 40 minutes before bringing it ‘under control’ but remain on site while it is ‘fully extinguished’.
‘FRV crews donned breathing apparatus and began an aggressive attack on the fire, as well as protecting a neighbouring apartment building from the blaze,’ a spokesperson said.
Although the cause of the fire was still to be determined, firefighters have already been able to trace the blaze’s trajectory through the fire-ravaged chapel.
‘The fire started in a rear room of the church before extending into the roof space of the main chapel and has caused significant damage to the structure,’ the FRV spokesperson said.
The historic church was founded in 1928 and served the region’s growing Irish Catholic population for more than half a century.
But the building has fallen into disuse since the parish was closed three decades ago.
The FRV spokesman said squatters were reported to have inhabited the building in recent years – though no one was in inside at the time the blaze broke out.
Witnesses said members of the public rushed to help firefighters as they struggled to contain the inferno and cordoedn off the site for them until police arrived.
One local, Andrew, who was walking his dog when he noticed ‘large plumes of white smoke’ billowing from the old church building, said motorists even used their cars to close the streets and prevent traffic from disrupting the fire response.
‘The streets were filled with smoke… the fire trucks were just arriving as we arrived on the scene,’ he said.
‘Members of the public appeared to use their vehicles to block the road as people were attempting to driver over fire hoses.
Andrew, who posted images of the blaze to his Instagram page, added that some drivers on an adjacent road were trapped for some time by fire hose lines.
‘The fire brigade response was so quick it seemed to catch the cars off guard and the got stuck.’
Angela, who works at a nearby kindergarten, said the staff were on tenterhooks as they ‘waited to see if they’d need to evacuate’.
‘We first noticed the smell when we arrived around 8am,’ she said.
Police Victoria confirmed the fire was ‘being treated as suspicious’ and told Daily Mail an ‘arson chemist’ would start investigating the cause of the blaze on Monday afternoon.
How the fire will affect the fate of a proposed mixed use development being built beside the church is yet to be determined.
Developed by Gurner Group promotions for the apartment complex appeared to rely on the neighbouring church as a selling point.
The group’s website said the development would planned ‘the natural balance of things’ in the neighbourhood by complementing the existing landmarks.
‘Proudly collaborating with masters of craft Fender Katsalidis and Jack Merlo, Gurner has ensured the heritage church and the striking new contemporary form will remain quintessentially “South Melbourne” in nature,’ it boasted.