The State Government says the future of a former motel site at North Batemans Bay is still to be decided with a decision unlikely to be made anytime soon.
The former Bay Waters Holiday Resort on Old Punt Road has sat derelict for the past two years since on site management moved out.
Monday night’s fire in one section of the complex is the second to occur in as many years with police declaring the cause suspicious.
Transport for NSW, who owns the site, is believed to working with other government agencies to explore future uses for this property.
We have confirmed that security has now been increased the site in response to this latest incident.
Firefighters said they were initially hampered by poor access to water when trying to bring a fire under control.
Fire and Rescue NSW Inspector Phillip Eberle said getting enough water is problematic at the site because it is at the top of a hill.
“Water is a fairly heavy issue there at the top of the hill. So the crews used the Rural Fire Service with what we call relayed water in,” Inspector Eberle said.
“We found hydrants where we got long lengths of hose in, I think, up to 150, 200 metres worth of hose lengths and we fought the fire for a solid hour and a half to two hours to bring it under control,” he said.
“It’s a location-based issue that no one can overly correct. It’s just one of those infrastructure things that it is what it is, and the building at its time when it was built. The council and water do a great job. We’ve had a lot poorer water in a lot other places.
“It’s just not ideal when the fire’s bigger.”
Fire and Rescue NSW said they were well prepared to attend a large fire at a disused North Batemans Bay motel when the alarm was raised.
“There was a previous fire about two years ago so the crews maintained what we call pre-incident planning at the site making sure that they understood where things were,” Inspector Eberle said.
“So when the 000 calls came in for the building they were quite aware of where it potentially was and what was happening,” he said.
