Town hall to host temporary grocery store, shire offers relief after fire rips through Gnowangerup IGA

The Gnowangerup community is rallying around each other to ensure those living in the area have access to food and other essentials after a fire at the town’s only supermarket on Wednesday.

A serious fire broke out in an electrical box inside the Gnowangerup IGA about 1.30pm on March 26 and spread to the roof space as firefighters rushed to contain the blaze.

The efforts of the firefighters and store staff helped save the business from ruin, containing the fire by 2.30pm and fully extinguishing it at 3.15pm.

However, the fire did cause significant damage inside the store, leaving the town without a place to get groceries from for the immediate future.

With the IGA closed indefinitely, Shire of Gnowangerup president Kate O’Keeffe said urgent meetings were held on Thursday morning and temporary measures put in place.

A community hall is set to be home to a smaller operation of the store in the short term, the shire has plans in place for those in need of emergency food and a free bus service to Katanning, the closest nearby town with a grocery store, will be available.

The bus will leave at 10am on Friday and Saturday from the Gnowangerup Community Resource Centre, going to Katanning IGA and Woolworths for about an hour before returning for those in need of supplies.

A community barbecue was held at Nobarach Park on Thursday night to bring the community together in this difficult time.

“It’s certainly going to take some time for the building to be opened again,” Cr O’Keeffe said.

“In the meantime we are working with the IGA owners to relocate into one of the town halls and start off with necessities.

“We do have an element of our community that are vulnerable, so we need to make sure the community has access to the things they need.

“The shire is supplying meals to those in need and those in need of assistance are asked to get in touch with us.

“What is really heartening is we have the local roadhouse, community members all offering to help where they can.”

A Department of Fire and Emergency Services spokeswoman confirmed the cause of the blaze was accidental and was sparked by an electrical fault in the meter box.

DFES said fire crews ventilated the building after the fire initially sparked a hazmat warning for the nearby area and had left the scene safe about 5pm.

Volunteer firefighters from Gnowangerup and Katanning attended, along with Albany Fire and Rescue.

Crews from Mt Barker and Tambellup were activated but stood down soon after.

Cr O’Keeffe said the quick response from staff and firefighters prevented the blaze from engulfing the entire building.

“My understanding is the immediate staff response and their attempt to put it out was really important and saved the building from burning down,” she said.