A chemical spill, at first thought to be from a hazardous package, forced the evacuation of an Australia Post centre in Sunshine West last week.
The Metropolitan Fire Brigade, Ambulance Victoria and Victoria Police were called to the Fairbairn Road parcel centre about 8.30pm last Tuesday to attend to a truck from which an invisible gas was leaking.
According to a spokesman from the MFB, a strong, pungent odour was emanating from an Australia Post truck filled with mail and parcels.
Twenty Australia Post staff were ordered to leave the facility. Ambulance Victoria treated three workers on site for minor afflictions such as headaches, while a 35-year-old woman was taken to Western Hospital for observation.
A spokeswoman from the hospital said the woman was discharged soon after.
Locating the source of the odour took some time and the expertise of the MFB scientific officer and Hazmat Unit.
Firefighters conducted air monitoring and thermal imaging before finding the source of the sulphur dioxide gas.
A battery had overheated in a battery tray on the side of the large truck.
It took nine fire trucks and 26 firefighters to make the area safe. It was declared under control about 11pm.
According to a spokeswoman for Australia Post, the postal service’s trucks have self-raising roofs that run on an electric battery feed that’s on slow charge while the vehicles travel between destinations.
She stressed it was an isolated incident.
“This fault in the battery in this type of truck is not a common occurrence and it’s the first for the site in two years,” she said.
“Australia Post has stringent vehicle maintenance programs in place that involve regular vehicle servicing as well as daily maintenance checks. This program is known to all of our vehicle operators and compliance is mandatory.
“The issue we experienced last Tuesday was caused by a faulty battery. There were no further issues with the vehicle. The battery has since been replaced and the truck is fully operational.
“Australia Post takes the safety of our staff extremely seriously.”
Normal operations have resumed and there will be no mail delays as a result of the incident.
Australia Post’s incident statistics for the 2012-13 financial year detail a significant improvement compared with the previous year, with a 24 per cent decline in the company’s incident rate.
