UPDATE - THURSDAY, APRIL 11
The Bunnings Tamworth store will reopen to the public on Friday, April 12, after a flooding incident earlier in the week.
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On Wednesday, April 10, a forklift contacted a fire hydrant, which caused extensive flooding and damaged the switchboard.
A number of staff were also trapped in an office.
More than 100 staff and an unknown number of customers had to be evacuated from the store just after 10am.
A Bunnings spokesperson told the Leader on Wednesday, that the switchboard needed to dry out before they could determine when the store would reopen to the public.
On Thursday it was confirmed that the store would be able to reopen as usual on Friday, from 6.30am.
UPDATE
The Bunnings store will remain closed on Thursday, after water damage to the switchboard was revealed.
They need to let that air dry before they can do much more.
EARLIER
DIY'ers had to put projects on the backburner, after an incident at Tamworth's Bunnings store on Wednesday morning meant it was temporarily closed.
Police, and emergency services, including SES and fire brigade, were called to the Taminda store just after 10am, after a forklift hit a fihe sre hydrant.
Tamworth police Inspector Michael Moy said as a result of that, it's caused a problem with the water system which has led to flooding within the store and concern a ceiling could collapse.
"Twelve workers in the store were trapped in the office area and they were trapped due to the volume of water which was causing them not to be able to get out and the doors were sealed," Inspector Moy said.
"The store was evacuated and the water was able to be turned off and once that was done the people in the office were able to be released and no one has been injured as a result."
Inspector Moy said at the time there were about a hundred workers in the store and an unknown number of members of the public, "but everyone has been evacuated and there have been no injuries".
"With the water, some of the roofing in the has come down and those people couldn't be released until the area was secure," he said.
Bunnings Regional Manager, Deb Thompson, confirmed the incident involved a burst water main.
"All our customers and team members are safe and we thank emergency services for their quick response and help managing the situation," she told the Leader in a statement.
The store will remain closed until the cleanup is complete and everything is checked to make sure it is safe to reopen to the public.
Fiona Ferguson
I work for the Northern Daily Leader across the Peel Valley. We cover local news, community stories and rural issues that impact the New England, North West and Northern Tablelands regions.
I work for the Northern Daily Leader across the Peel Valley. We cover local news, community stories and rural issues that impact the New England, North West and Northern Tablelands regions.
