Fire Alarm/Damage – Wellington Arcade, Hobart

At 9.09am on Saturday 13th January 2021 Tasmania Fire Service crews responded to a fire alarm in the Wellington Centre, Argyle Street, Hobart.

Police were subsequently called due to evidence that a fire sensor had activated in the public toilets on the ground level above Woolworths Supermarket and one of the sprinkler outlets in the male toilets had been tampered with causing the sprinklers to activate.  This has caused flooding throughout the toilets, arcade floor area near the public lifts, and flooding into Hudsons Coffee shop.

A fire evacuation plan was initiated by shop owners who were trading at the time and who secured the centre.  Businesses and the public were disrupted for approximately 90mins whilst the incident was investigated, and the arcade made safe to reopen due clean up of the water and resetting the alarms.

There was no fire damage, however there was considerable water damage and disruption caused by activation of the sprinkler system and fire doors.

The value of damage caused to businesses by the water is unknown at this stage due to some businesses being closed for the weekend, and it was unknown at the time whether they have been affected.

Invesgtigations are continuing with review of the centre CCTV footage and interview of witnesses.

Any information regarding the incident can be forwarded to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or Police on 131444.