A fire in central Hobart's Murray Street department store, Myer, occurred on 22 September 2007, the day after the 2007 AFAC conference.

The Myer building was built in 1908 and consisted of four levels, including one below ground, and contained a variety of merchandise ranging from cosmetics and records through to clothing and homewares.

What started as a call on the Direct Brigade Alarm (DBA) culminated in one of the largest fires of its type in Tasmania’s history, with the damage estimate of $AUS 200 Million.  The fire spread rapidly during the course of the firefighting operations and ultimately destroyed the building. 

At the 2008 AFAC conference, held in Adelaide, the presenter talked about the ensuing recovery in the week following the fire and outlined the many valuable lessons learned. The tremendous feats of human endeavour undertaken were also highlighted.

Subsequent to this fire, there was extensive operational analysis, a coronial inquiry and an ensuing Supreme Court hearing. The result of these had a tremendous impact on the Tasmania Fire Service and the people directly affected.

This presentation will;

• Recap the Hobart Fire Brigade's capabilities and response to the incident

• Provide a frank and in depth analysis of the lessons learned

• Examine the impact on an organisation of the forensic analysis that is typical of a coronial inquiry and identify what we can learn from a process such as this.