telerecordings's video: Fairlea Prison Fire newser 1982

A dormitory fire claimed the lives of three remand prisoners on the evening of Saturday 6 February 1982. Two of the women killed, Clelia Teresa Vigano and Mary Escola Catilo, were the respective partners and criminal associates of drug smuggler David McMillan and his associate Michael Sullivan. Two other remand prisoners were injured. A senior police officer said that the fire had been set at 8.15 pm and was "a reaction" to an escape earlier that day. That escape had occurred at 3.00 pm when four women forced a laundry door and scaled two fences; two women were quickly caught by prison officers near the prison grounds while two prisoners evaded capture.[9] At the subsequent coronial inquiry, two surviving prisoners reported that the third deceased prisoner, Danielle Wright, was angry that two of her friends had been promptly recaptured and placed in solitary confinement after their escape that afternoon. Wright wanted to tear up the building in protest, the witnesses stated, but Vigano suggested she should instead light a fire, reasoning that the buildings were very old and worthy of being condemned anyway. It was planned they would cause some damage with the fire, but then extinguish it. Torn up papers, bedding and mattresses were set fire at about 8.00 pm, and Wright threatened violence against any prisoner who pressed the buzzer to summon an officer. However the fire quickly got out of control and Wright sounded the buzzer. Ten minutes had elapsed before help arrived.[10] Coroner Kevin Mason criticised the lack of fire training carried out by the prison. He ruled that the three deceased all died of asphyxiation from carbon monoxide poisoning, and that Wright had lit the fire. The hearing heard that two prisoners were rescued by officer Roy Ansfield who crawled into the burning building to retrieve them. At the hearing it was suggested by the counsel for Vigano's parents that the building's wooden construction was unsuitable for its purpose as a locked dormitory; he called it "a potential fire hazard and a death trap".[11] As a result of the fire, many of the inmates were temporarily housed at Pentridge Prison whilst Fairlea was rebuilt. The new complex was opened in 1986 and 3.7 million dollars was spent on the rebuilding, which allowed the prison to hold up to 106 women at a time.[4] The old asylum and clinic structures were demolished and one of the 1860 gate pillars was relocated to a site opposite the original entry to Fairlea. Info from Wikkipedia.