Tudor Village Mews retirement village residents watch as their newly renovated community centre burns
Sometime after 6pm yesterday, Monday 6 May, the community centre at the Tudor Village Mews Retirement Village was engulfed in fire. The Tudor Village Mews retirement village is in Lilydale, approximately 35 km north east of Melbourne’s central business district.
Frightened residents reported flames, explosions and roiling smoke, which one resident recorded on his video camera. It was a very large fire and the footage made for frightening viewing.
There were concerns for the safety of two residents last night, as firefighters were informed that two people had been seen going into the retirement village’s community centre before it was engulfed in fire. However, by this morning, all residents had been located.
The police apparently worked throughout the night to ensure all residents were safe.
Whilst a large team of fire fighters fought the fire last night, today, it’s the arson specialists who are combing the ruins for information on what caused the fire.
At this stage, it is believed that the heat from an angle grinder that was being used as part of a major renovation project being undertaken at the retirement village was the cause of the fire.
Residents are devastated as it has left them without somewhere to socialise. The centre’s grand piano, swimming pool and library were all destroyed in the fire.
Overwhelmed residents watched on as fire fighters spent 50 minutes getting the fire under control. Some residents reportedly used garden hoses to prevent plants around their retirement village homes catching fire. However, fortunately, no residents needed to be evacuated.
The community centre has been totally destroyed. Fire fighters report that it was a single storey brick building and 90% of it was overwhelmed by fire. The roof of the building collapsed and was in the process of being removed this morning.
The narrow streets of the retirement village in and around the community centre reportedly caused a problem for emergency vehicles. The fire was attended by the CFA, MFB, SES and the ambulance service, which meant parking for all the emergency vehicles was hard to come by.
Here at the Retirement Community Noticeboard we hope all residents at the Tudor Village Mews retirement village are able to quickly make alternative arrangements to socialise until their community centre can be rebuilt.
Tuesday 7 May, 2013
The information retirement village residents wish they had before they bought their retirement homes.
