Black smoke tarnished parts of the Perth sky earlier today while an Ambulance Tasmania helicopter carried a man to the Royal Hobart Hospital with burns to 50 per cent of his body from a fire at Adams Distillery.
Emergency services arrived at the whisky and gin distillery to find the production shed ablaze while staff members of the distillery tended to a badly burnt man on the front lawn.
READ MORE: Young father remains in coma after fire
Tasmania Fire Service quickly worked to extinguish the blaze before message went out that the flammable liquids inside were no longer in the firing line, but not before an estimated $1.5-2 million damage was done to the less than three year old shed.
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"Today, the Adams Family has suffered a tragedy," the distillery said in a social media post six-hours after the fire went up.
"A workplace accident has occurred and a fire resulted. The cause is yet unknown."
The man had been working at the distillery when the fire broke out but the cause was not yet revealed in anticipation of a pending WorkSafe investigation.
Launceston Fire Brigade district officer of operations Mark Ciantar said the man was carrying out his "normal day-to-day operations" at the time.
"He was working in the gin distillery component of the distillery and he was actually mixing product," he said.
Despite the burns the man received, Mr Ciantar said he was a "very lucky man" considering the help that was offered to him by his co-workers.
"Thankfully one of the part-owners is a former paramedic so his skills were exceptional in treating his work colleague," he said.
"His condition is reported as serious so naturally any burn is a significant injury to a person so given he's got partial and full thickness burns to his arms, legs and face, he is quite a sick man.
"They [the staff] were fantastic. They gave us fantastic support from a point of view of isolating utilities and also in treating their colleague."
Mr Ciantar said, although the blaze battle was "just another scene", wind and flammable liquids contributed to the severity of the fire.
A Department of Justice spokesperson said, "WorkSafe Tasmania has been notified of the incident and will be attending when appropriate to do so".
EARLIER 1:51PM
A worker has been airlifted to hospital with serious burns after a fire at a Perth distillery on Tuesday morning.
The blaze broke out at Adams Distillery just before 10.30am, with multiple fire crews, police and ambulance called to the scene.
A worker mixing gin was injured, suffering partial and full thickness burns to his hands, arms and legs.
Other staff, including a retired paramedic who works at the site, treated the man before emergency services arrived.
He was then airlifted, in a serious condition, to the Royal Hobart Hospital.
The fire was extinguished, with investigators still on the scene just after 1pm.
Firefighter and Launceston's district officer of operations Mark Ciantar said the blaze had caused upwards of $2 million in damages.
The cause of the fire had not yet been determined, but it was understood it started during the mixing process.
"He was working in the gin component at the distillery and was mixing at the time," Mr Ciantar said.
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EARLIER 11:50AM
An injured man has been airlifted by a rescue helicopter at the scene of a distillery fire this morning.
Tasmania Fire Service said his injuries were believed to be serious, but not life threatening.
Emergency services remained on scene of the fire just before noon, with the building fully engulfed by flames.
Motorists and pedestrians were still being asked to avoid the scene and obey directions of emergency services.
EARLIER:
A distillery in Perth has been completely engulfed by flames this morning.
Emergency services responded to calls of a fire at Adams Distillery on Eskleigh Road about 10.20am.
A Tasmania Fire Service spokesperson said the building is fully alight.
The spokesperson said one person is believed to be injured and being treated by paramedics on scene.
Brinley Duggan
Melissa Mobbs
A journalist with more than a decade of experience, Melissa Mobbs currently works as the Deputy Editor for The Examiner Newspaper in Launceston, and has a strong background in reporting on crime and the justice system. Send tips to Melissa.Mobbs@examiner.com.au or on Twitter via @melissamobbs.
A journalist with more than a decade of experience, Melissa Mobbs currently works as the Deputy Editor for The Examiner Newspaper in Launceston, and has a strong background in reporting on crime and the justice system. Send tips to Melissa.Mobbs@examiner.com.au or on Twitter via @melissamobbs.
