By Casey Neill
Returning to work at the branch gutted by fire last November is helping Springvale Commonwealth Bank staff to heal.
The refurbished Springvale Road site reopened its doors on Monday 1 May following the 18 November, 2016 attack that injured more than 20 people.
Police allege 21-year-old Rohingya asylum seeker Nur Islam set himself on fire inside the bank.
The Springvale man will answer 92 charges over the incident, and is due to appear in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 11 May.
South eastern area manager Christopher Beames arrived for work at the branch shortly after the incident unfolded.
“It’s the biggest challenge that myself and my team have ever faced,” he said.
“All staff were given a choice, and the vast majority of the team want to be back here in Springvale because they love the community, they love their clients, they want to be part of it.”
Mr Beames said reopening the branch also meant a lot to the community.
“They’re very dependent on our services,” he said.
“They’re a very tightly knit community here in Springvale.
“They’ve been asking a lot of questions in the lead-up to today.
“They’ve been inquiring about the well-being of our staff all the way through.
“We had a limited service offering until today, with a temporary site and a pop-up branch.”
Mr Beames said “security is paramount to us” and the branch had a completely different layout and design.
“The fundamental principles behind our security still remain in tact,” he said.
He thanked the community, emergency services and businesses for their support.
Murals featuring the Springvale Asian Gateway, local temples and parks adorn the walls inside the branch, which also features the latest technology in banking.
Staff told the Journal that customers travelled from as far away as Altona, Nunawading and Box Hill.
Each staff member can speak at least two languages, making the experience easier for migrants.
Kevin Tan speaks Cambodian and English. He was inside the bank when the fire took place.
“It was really shocking for every one of us,” he said.
“I was getting out really panicked to see everyone crowding, people running around.”
But he was “very excited to come back”.
David Huynh was on his way to work and just outside the branch when the explosion tore through the bank.
He saw smoke coming out of the building.
“It was quite daunting, quite confronting, especially seeing the people that you work with every day stuck in that situation is quite unimaginable,” he said.
“It affected us quite deeply, but we’ve gelled together.
“We came together as a team to learn and grow from each other.
“We talk quite openly about it, try to support each other as best as we can, talk about how we feel and ways that we can support each other.”
Mr Huynhh said returning to work at the branch was helping everyone to move on.
One customer told the Journal that the new branch was “beautiful”.
She lives within walking distance and had been eagerly awaiting its reopening.
Springvale Asian Business Association (SABA) spokesman Stan Chang praised the bank, community and emergency services for how they handled the “very sad incident” and its aftermath.
“The community appreciates the response and the way the Commonwealth Bank handled the matter,” he said.
“Commonwealth Bank is a very different kettle of fish in terms of local services.
“Totally cut off from the service, a lot of people would become a little bit lost.”
