HUNDREDS of workers have just returned to Dandenong’s Australian Tax Office building, following a fire in a lift shaft this morning.
Eight CFA crews evacuated 700 people from the Mason Street office about 9.45am after a lift motor caught fire, filling level 11 with smoke that then filtered down through the building.
It took 15 minutes to evacuate the building with the lifts out of action.
Firefighters had to carry several wheelchair-bound workers down the stairs.
They found the fire had self-extinguished, then systematically worked through each level of the building to ensure the lift was safe on every floor.
They declared the incident safe about 11.15am.
Extraction systems removed the smoke from the building.
