Hotel fire devastates Thorpdale
The tiny Victorian town of Thorpdale, population 180, is recovering from a fire which destroyed its hotel and left one man dead.
The Travellers Rest Hotel in the Gippsland town 138 kilometres east of Melbourne was engulfed in flames at about 1.40am on Tuesday morning.
A neighbour seeing the flames notified emergency services. The pub was already fully alight when they arrived.
A dozen CFA tankers were deployed to the blaze and sixteen CFA crews took just over an hour to contain the fire and discovered a body at the site. Police are still investigating the fire.
The man was identified as John Bantock, who many say was a pillar of the township.
Bakery owner Jonathon Marsh became emotional talking about the man who was a close friend and colleague.
The pair used to run the pub together.
“We moved here to take on the bistro,” Mr Marsh told the Herald Sun.
“I worked with Johnny for six years, so we became really good mates and had a very good relationship.
“Then we opened the bakery, so for three years we had both, we had the bistro and here (bakery).
“Russell, my baker, he was the one who called Triple 0. He ran over to try and wake Johnny, but .. it’s just a very, very sad time.”
The pub itself was apparently inherited from family.
It is a key part of the tight township.
“There’s only three things here — the post office, the pub and the bakery,” Mr Marsh said.
The right side of the pub seems to be part that’s been most affected by the blaze. The tin roof has caved in.
With an arson chemist now working to determine the cause of the blaze, authorities have yet to say whether the fire is suspicious or not.
Anyone with information about the fire is being urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
by Leon Gettler, April 4th 2017
