Fibreboard factory closed by fire

GYMPIE’S Carter Holt Harvey fibreboard factory in Langton Road is closed for an unknown period after a major electrical fire last week.

Although no official comment has been available from the company, a source said the factory will likely be closed for at least two weeks. It is believed a fire started when sawdust settled in a cable conduit and was ignited by contact with an electrical power source.

The firm’s Sydney office declined to comment and referred The Gympie Times to its head office’s public relations firm in New Zealand but the relevant company public relations officer was out of the office at the time of contact.

Gympie fire fighters responded to the emergency about 7pm last Thursday night. Two crews took three hours to extinguish the blaze.

An Energex spokesperson said the organisation’s emergency crews were called to the job but found by the time they arrived, Carter Holt Harvey’s staff had isolated power to the building from the switchboard.

Energex crews then made the area safe by isolating the mains power supply.

Although the factory, which is a big Gympie employer, was not permanently damaged by the blaze, it is understood the factory will need major repair work and will be closed for some time, possibly a month but at least two weeks.

The company makes medium-density fibreboard from Gympie Region wood chips and is a large supplier of export product to the construction industry.