Club ‘gutted’ by suspicious Caulfield Racecourse grandstand blaze

FRV acting assistant chief fire officer Dennis Smith said the first and second levels of the timber stand were worst affected, but a quick response from firefighters and the club’s sprinkler system stopped the fire from spreading.

“Considering it’s a historic building and there’s been some damage there, it could’ve been a lot worse,” he said at a press conference at the racecourse.

Smith said a firefighter was taken to hospital with a cut to his hand that would likely require stitches. About 17 fire trucks and more than 70 firefighters battled the blaze, he added.

Earlier, Smith told radio station 3AW that it was difficult to tell if the damage meant part of the stand – which was built in 1960 – would need to be knocked down. He said a structural engineer would inspect the site.

“That section will be out of action for quite some time,” Smith said.

“I don’t believe they have to knock any components down of the brick area, but because it is timber, it’s unlikely that area will be able to be repaired. They will probably have to replace that section.”

FRV incident controller Dennis Smith speaks to the media on Tuesday morning.Credit: Paul Jeffers

The fire-affected stand adjoins the main grandstand, and the MRC chairman told radio station SEN his greatest concern after the fire was contained was possible smoke damage to the racecourse’s main pavilion.

When asked if the fire-ravaged stand could be saved from demolition, Kanga said: “I’m not an engineer, but structurally it looks – from the debrief from the fire brigades – like it’s OK.”

Kanga was adamant the stand would be rebuilt to what it was, if not better, regardless of the damage on Tuesday.

However, he told reporters at the scene that Wednesday’s race at Caulfield Heath was unlikely to go ahead, although neither the track nor jockey’s facilities were burnt.

Chairman John Kanga at Caulfield Racecourse on October 12, 2024.Credit: Getty Images

“We’ve got Mornington Racecourse on standby, ready to step into the fray there. So we’re comfortable we’re going to be able to race tomorrow,” Kanga said.

FRV said the fire response was escalated to third-alarm level, but was contained to the centre of the grandstand and deemed under control at 7.09am.

Kanga said that when he first arrived, “it looked like both grandstands were up … but thank god we’ve got professional Fire Rescue Victoria”.

A community advice message was issued for the fire and smoke, but FRV incident controller Smith said no horses or people were hurt.

“There were probably a few community members milling around, a few workers arriving on scene, but thankfully, no impact to the community doing exercise, and definitely no horses, which was great news,” Smith said.

The advice message that initially covered several neighbouring suburbs was reduced to a community information notice for Caulfield East and Caulfield North at 8.34am.

No arrest was ever made, but it was rumoured the police believed notorious Melbourne gangster Leslie “Squizzy” Taylor was involved after an incident at the racecourse three days earlier.