An abandoned building at New Norfolk’s Millbrook Rise has been destroyed by fire early this morning.
Emergency services were called to reports of a fire in a vacant building at the rear of a property on Hobart Road around 1:25am.
The building had been empty for several years.
Crews put out the fire and the Tasmania Fire Service said an investigation was under way to determine the cause.
Derwent Valley Mayor Michelle Dracoulis told Pulse one of the older buildings at Millbrook Rise had been lost.
She said the building had been “pretty much razed to the ground” and investigators were on site.
No firefighters were hurt, Dracoulis said.
The mayor thanked the crews who responded in the early hours, saying they stopped the fire from affecting neighbouring properties.
“We’re very grateful to the responders that got there so quickly,” she said.
“So thanks to everyone who got out there in the very early hours and took care of this, so it didn’t affect neighboring plans and properties.”
She said it was an important reminder to get more volunteer firegfighters.
“It is important that we get more people volunteering for the fire service, both for structure fires and for the bushfires that we will see this season,” she said.
Millbrook Rise opened as a mental health hospital in 1934 and later became part of the Royal Derwent Hospital, which closed in 2001.
Tasmania’s health department operates the Millbrook Rise Centre for Rehabilitation in other buildings near the now-destroyed building.
It has three units for client accommodation each with shared living spaces and separate outdoor areas.
