By CASEY NEILL
A FLOORING business razed by fire just seven days ago should have all 50 staff back on board within a couple of weeks.
QEP Australia managing director Bruce Maclaren has been “staggered” at the support he’s received from the community and inspired by his south east employees since the blaze in Dandenong South on 19 September.
“It’s a close-knit business like most small companies are,” he said.
“They’re all available any time.
“They’re working in conditions that would be less than acceptable normally.
“I’m inspired by that.”
Mr Maclaren was in the office at the Dunlopillo Drive site when the flames took hold in the warehouse about 6pm.
“We high-tailed it out of there, called the fire brigade,” he said.
“By the time the first appliance arrived the whole thing was already stuffed.
“Had it happened three hours earlier you’d have 50 people in there.
“The pace that I saw the fire take hold and literally level the place to the ground, I hate to think about what might have happened.”
More than 30 fire vehicles and 100 CFA and MFB firefighters fought for 90 minutes to bring the blaze under control.
Crews remained at the scene over the weekend as it continued to smoulder.
Police and CFA investigators have deemed the fire non-suspicious.
“I think they’re expecting some sort of sparks occurred from something electrical,” Mr Maclaren said.
The site had been home to the flooring distribution business for the past eight years and contained carpet, vinyl flooring, underlay, timber, adhesives, tools and more.
The $4 million in burning stock sent a toxic plume of smoke over Dandenong, Dandenong South, Hallam and Hampton Park and prompted a CFA warning for residents with breathing difficulties to stay indoors.
Mr Maclaren is now trying to get employees back to work as quickly as possible.
“We’re really targeting minimal disruption,” he said.
“Half of my business is functioning as normal.
“The other half, it’s going to ramp up over the course of the next four or five weeks.
“We’ve now got probably about 80 per cent of our administration staff – albeit in very cramped surrounds – placed.
“We’re functioning and have been for a couple of days now, which is good.
“The warehouse staff are our biggest challenge.”
The company is seeking a new warehouse in the Dandenong area.
Mr Maclaren said the company would return to the site if the landlord decided to rebuild.
“My understanding is the whole thing is going to be levelled very quickly,” he said.
