Fire at Rip Curl building

RIP Curl’s Torquay headquarters had to evacuate their building after employees noticed smoke coming out of part of the building on Thursday afternoon.

Staff quickly dialled “000” and crews from the Grovedale, Geelong and Torquay fire stations all responded.

The fire was caused by an electrical fault in a transformer in the roof.

The firefighters initially had difficulty locating the source of the fire, and then contacted some of Rip Curl’s contractors and removed some of the roofing panels to find the fire.

Surf Coast CFA operations officer Wayne Aylmer said he believed everyone involved reacted well to the situation.

“It was a co-operative effort between CFA and Rip Curl to coordinate the evacuation of the building and provide expertise via their contractors to help find the problem.”

Mr Aylmer also said it was fortunate the fire happened during working hours when it could be quickly noted and acted upon.