10/05/2026
On Friday May 8, at approx. 11.15pm as most people were getting ready for bed , FRV Station 78 (Morwell) and Morwell CFA were paged to a report of a building fire on Maryvale Road next too the Enjoy Church.
As Morwell CFA volunteers were making their way to the fire station a large orange glow could be seen from most of Morwell leading members to believe they have a going fire to deal with.
FRV pumper 78 and aerial pumper 78 arrived on scene first and confirmed a large building 1/4 to 1/3 involved. The location was confirmed as the old Morwell Tech School site. Morwell CFA Tanker arrived soon after and together crews worked hard to extinguish the fire.
Fire hydrants on the property were found to have very low water pressure resulting in having to source water from Maryvale Road/Ashley Ave about 300m away or about 10 lengths of hose away.
Extra resources were responded to assist with FRV and CFA units coming from across the Latrobe Valley. At one stage about 50 firefighters and around 20 appliances and support vehicles being on scene.
Unfortunately due to the delay in getting a reliable water source and the sudden increase in wind the fire began rapidly spreading throughout the building, resulting in the total loss of the building.
Due to the extent of fire and building stability the fire was attacked externally using 2 aerial streams from above and multiple hose lines with crews utilising breathing apparatus on the ground.
Fire crews did manage to protect nearby buildings from being impacted by the fire.
Crews worked long into the night with the last CFA and FRV crews returning to their stations at around 6.30am.
Cause is being investigated.
Responding units.
FRV
Station 78 - Pumper and Aerial Pumper
Station 79 - Pumper
Station 77 - Pumper and Ladder Platform
Commander Wilkie
CFA
Morwell - Tanker, FCV and support
Churchill - FCV
Traralgon - Tanker, FCV, Salvage and BA support
Yallourn North - Rehab Unit and Field Toilet Trailer
Tyers - Tanker and Hyland Group FCV
Traralgon West - FCV
Hazelwood North - Tanker
(FCV = Forward Command Vehicle)
Apologies if anyone was missed.
(Not for Media use, for official comment on the fire please contact FRV Station 78)
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