A paramedic has described the moment he realised his business was on fire, and his close friend seriously injured, after a tragic accident at a Perth distillery.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Adams Distillery owners Adam Pinkard and Adam Saunders were in an on-site meeting on Tuesday morning when they noticed smoke.
Distiller Greg Longmore, who had only been working at the site for three weeks, received burns to 50 per cent of his body in the fire, which broke out about 10.30am.
"I was in a Zoom call. The first I knew about the fire was when Adam [Saunders] went running out of the office. I didn't know what was going on, but I knew I had to go," Mr Pinkard said.
"There was smoke billowing out of shed. Greg was already out ... he was lying on the grass.
"I went straight to Greg, and was able to call an ambulance and the firies. I was able to tell them what we had. Adam went to the fire."
Mr Pinkard said another worker helped him move Greg further away from the fire. They then turned their attention to treating his burns.
"We ended up using the garden hose on him to stop the burning," he said.
"As soon as the first ambulance turned up, the guy [paramedic] was on his own so I helped him administer some pain relief to Greg."
The 36-year-old father of two was flown to the Royal Hobart Hospital, where he remains.
With 10 years' experience as a paramedic, Mr Pinkard said he had never been more glad to have been at work when he was.
"'I am very glad I was there. I just did what I would have done if it was any other job," he said.
"Being a paramedic, that's my day job. I am still very much in a clinical state of mind, but it's obviously a bit different when it's someone you know.
"You often remove yourself from it - you have to."
Mr Pinkard said Greg was in the shed by himself and had just started a new line of gin when the fire broke out.
Fire investigators deemed it accidental - caused during the gin distilling process.
Worksafe is continuing to investigate.
Firefighters on the scene praised the quick actions of Mr Pinkard in saving Greg's life, with more than $1.5 million in damages done to the business.
While devastated by the loss, Mr Pinkard said their focus remained with Greg and his family.
"We will be fine, we have insurance. At the end of the day it's just a shed - we can rebuild. It's the people, our work mates - they are the heart and soul of Adams," he said.
"Our focus is now with Greg, his family, and making sure they have everything that they need.
"That's not to say we aren't heartbroken ... over all of it. This is a business we have busted our butts over for years.
"Now we just have to work through it, and assist and support Greg as best as we can."
Mr Pinkard said he was travelling to Hobart on Thursday to be with Greg.
A GoFundMe campaign for the Longmore family has already raised more than $50,000.
Mr Pinkard said they had been overwhelmed by support from the Northern Tasmanian community.
"The whole community has just been incredible," he said.
"The whiskey and alcohol industry in Tasmania, even Australia is very tight knit.
"The messages of support we have gotten ... it just brings you to tears."
Jessica Willard
Being a health reporter to me is about more than just reporting the problems. It's about asking why they are happening in the first place and what needs to change to fix it.
Being a health reporter to me is about more than just reporting the problems. It's about asking why they are happening in the first place and what needs to change to fix it.
