Reef hotel's future in doubt

The future of The Reef Hotel in Bunbury is in doubt after it was gutted by a fire on Sunday morning.

It took firefighters an hour to control the flames as smoke billowed from the second storey windows and roof about 6.30am.

Firefighters also had a frantic search on their hands after it was reported a man was missing in the building.

As crews from Bunbury and Eaton-Australind Fire stations battled flames, teams of firefighters continued searching for the man.

Bunbury station officer Darryn Rowland said the man was eventually located away from the hotel, more than an hour after the fire was brought under control.

“The guys couldn’t locate him and that obviously put a lot of stress on the firefighters, ” Mr Rowland said.

The damage bill for the heritage-listed building has been estimated at $500,000.

Mr Rowland said the point of origin of the fire was in an office space on the second storey and flames quickly spread once the fire got into the roof.

He said the nature of the building – a wooden structure with wooden floor boards – spurred firefighters to take quick action.

“There wasn’t a direct threat to other businesses, it’s not connected to other buildings, but being a wooden building we wanted to get it under control quickly, ” he said.

The second storey was completely gutted in the blaze.

The outside of the building remains intact, but areas that were not burnt are water-damaged.

Firefighters were mopping up the fire late into Sunday night.

“It’s structurally intact – I guess it’s not going to fall down – but there’s extensive damage, ” Mr Rowland said.

Department of Fire and Emergency Services South West acting superintendent Peter Curran said a fire investigation officer was yesterday looking into what sparked the fire.

“The cause is still to be determined, but hopefully we’ll have more details soon, ” he said.

The fire stretched firefighting crews in Bunbury who are still helping contain the bushfire in the Waroona area.

A fire truck and crew from Mandurah made the trip to Bunbury on Sunday morning to help cover the station.