All fire hydrants in an apartment building in Melbourne`s CBD were opened, flooding the entire building and evacuating more than 100 residents from the building, according to < 9News.
The incident took place on City Road, Southbank district. Firefighters received an alarm call at about 10:00 last night. When they arrived at the scene, they saw heavy water surging out of the front door of the apartment building.
A 27-year-old man allegedly opened fire hydrants on all floors, from the first floor to the 18th floor, causing thousands of litres of water to flow into the floor corridor. The man then hid in an office and was finally arrested by the police.
A total of 120 people were evacuated from the building and firefighters urgently shut down all fire hydrants to reduce damage to apartment buildings caused by flooding.
"firefighters are using professional equipment such as water absorbers and pumps to clean up the water and check out potential electrical hazards," the fire department said.
A maintenance worker was taken to a hospital this morning after being injured in the face by water from a burst pipe during clean-up work.
There should be no running water in the building by now, but residents will not be able to return home until the surveyors have assessed the damage.
