Kempsey fire guts building | Daily Mail Online

Huge blaze takes hold of a building just metres from a petrol station – but one brave man doesn’t seem to care

Man walks towards huge blaze that engulfs entire building at Kempsey, NSW
Quick acting firefighters stop blaze from spreading to nearby service station
Police investigation has yet to confirm the cause of the fire

By Aidan Wondracz For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 07:50 BST, 25 September 2018 | Updated: 07:50 BST, 25 September 2018

A huge blaze that ripped through a building this morning, and could have potentially spread to a nearby service station, didn’t seem to phase one man who walked directly towards the scene.

Video footage revealed a panel beater building on Verge Street, Kempsey, NSW engulfed in flames when a man walked towards it.

A police officer who cordoned off the scene could be seen urging the passerby to step back.

According to Fire and Rescue NSW North Coast Duty Commander Tony Lenthall, only the occupant of the building suffered minor burns to the forehead.

‘They were very minor burns to the forehead, like being sunburned,’ he said.

He said Kempsey Fire Station were called to the scene at 7.55am, and with the assistance of Port Macquarie and Maxwell fire stations the blaze was brought under control in 40 minutes.

‘We also called in an aerial truck from Coffs Harbour, in case the fire spread, but we turned it away before it arrived,’ Mr Lenthall said.

Despite a completely destroyed panel beater building, Mr Lenthall said the aftermath could have been more devastating.

‘The building was next to a larger industrial building, service station and a house,’ he said.

‘Crews at Kempsey did an excellent job at containing the fire and stopping it from spreading to the other buildings: it could have been a lot worse.’