Factory inferno

By Lia Bichel
A DANDENONG South factory was left gutted and collapsed after it went up in flames on Tuesday afternoon.
The fire began at about 2.30pm at K and H Surface Technologies on the South Gippsland Highway.
Dandenong CFA operations manager Gavin Thompson said the fire began in the mixing area of the factory but the cause of the blaze was still under investigation.
He said the factory was engulfed by fire before crews arrived, but all of the company’s workers had already evacuated.
About 60 firefighters and 20 trucks attended the scene from Dandenong, Hallam, Frankston, Narre Warren, Hampton Park and Cranbourne, while police diverted traffic and closed the highway from Greens Road to Princes Highway.
It took firefighters about an hour to contain the blaze but they were at the scene for several hours cleaning up.
“They were there well into the night,” Mr Thompson said.
He said there were buildings adjacent to the factory that could have been under threat from the blaze, but fire crews managed to contain the fire in time.
The heavy rain, which began shortly after 3pm, also helped fire-fighters with their efforts.
“The rain definitely helped with the smoke and helped the crews get the fire under control,” he said.
Mr Thompson said the inferno was the to largest hit the Dandenong area in about a year.
“It was probably the biggest we have had to deal with in the past 12 months, in terms of size and intensity,” he said.
“The factory was gutted and had caved in.”
K and H Surface Technologies was established in 1961 and is a chemical manufacturing company specialising in manufacturing and distribution of chemical repair products for the automotive refinish markets and the hardware, construction and marine industries.
It employs about 60 people.