Mayfield fire incident

This is for vehicles that were on Denison Street, between Maitland Road and Waratah Street, or in Ironstone Lane.

The area still contains asbestos debris, and vehicles may be potentially contaminated. If your vehicle is within this area, please contact City of Newcastle if you have not already done so to identify your vehicle.

Do not attempt to clean or remove your vehicle yourself. We are working with known owners to have vehicles wiped down on-site by our asbestos removal contractors where approval has been provided by the owners.

We will then contact you and advise you contact your insurance company or assessor to determine the next steps. If your vehicle was not secured (i.e. your windows were open), further clearance may be required before you or others enter your vehicle, as asbestos may have entered the vehicle.

This is for vehicles on Waratah Street, Denison Street (south of Waratah Street), or Texas Street.

Streets have been cleaned and assessed as safe. Please contact your insurer if concerned and consider optional professional assessment. You may arrange collection, inspection, or cleaning as needed.

There is a lower level of risk for vehicles nearby (but outside the above areas), along with those that were undercover or garaged, but caution still applies. Avoid disturbing any visible debris, contact your insurer if concerned, and consider optional professional assessment.

The clean-up of public spaces on Denison Street, between Maitland Road and Waratah Street, and eastern part of Ironstone Lane has been completed by our licenced asbestos assessor (LAA).  

Traffic control will remain in place until at least early next week, including the closure of Ironstone Lane west of Denison Street. This is because demolition work on the fire site building at 1 Denison Street will require safety measures to remain in place across some public spaces in the area. 

It’s expected this demolition work will start on Thursday and is being carried out by a principal contractor completing the works on behalf of the owner’s insurance company.  

This company, Aztech Services, will take all necessary precautions to prevent the further spread of asbestos during the demolition of the building, and are responsible for avoiding any further contamination in the area.   

When the demolition of the fire site is completed, we can complete the final clean of the surrounding area to allow it to be reopened to the public, traffic control will be removed from the area with the streets to operate as normal.   

Working with residents  

Thank you to everyone who has reported asbestos in their properties for your patience and cooperation to date. We’re continuing to identify and log those properties who have reported suspected asbestos fragments. 

We may also be in touch with property owners who have not reported asbestos, but where we believe there may be a level of contamination on those properties, based on the reported distribution of debris in the area.

We’ll continue working with property owners in the area on next steps.  

If we haven’t been in touch with you and you think we should have been, please reach out via our Customer Service team, either online at newcastle.nsw.gov.au or by phone at 02 4974 2000.  

Bin collections   

Following inspections of several green bins in the area by our LAA, we are comfortable resuming the regular cadence of green bin collections across the area.   

This means that bin collections – red, green, and yellow – will now return to normal, and residents should resume putting the appropriate bins out each week with the expectation they’ll be collected as normal.   

Despite the resumption of regular bin service, we ask that you continue to hold off on mowing any lawns in the area around the fire site. 

This is due to the chance that asbestos may still be present in your lawn and mowing that debris into the air increases the risk of further contaminating your property, and in turn, your green bin and our green waste generally.   

We are working hard to complete our investigations for properties in the area to allow you to resume mowing safely. Thank you again for your patience.   

Over the last week, a licenced asbestos assessor (LAA) has inspected a number of properties in proximity to the fire site and found suspected asbestos containing material (ACM). 

We are working directly with those identified and suspected properties to assist with the investigation, make-safe of properties, and clean-up of those fragments. 

This is happening on a priority basis, starting with those houses which are most affected by suspected ACM. Rain continues to hamper our clean-up efforts, and we thank you again for your patience.

Based on the location of these fragments, we suspect further properties that have not yet been inspected may have also been impacted.  

If you believe your property may contain asbestos fragments and you have not been contacted, please report them as soon as possible. You can do so at the link above or calling our Customer Service team at (02) 4974 2000 from Monday to Friday, 8.00am - 5.00pm.

Please continue to follow signage in the area and directions from crews on the ground.

What should I do if I own the property?

If you believe asbestos fragments may be present on your property and you are a property owner, please report them to City of Newcastle and talk to your insurance company as soon as possible. This will give you the best pathway to ensuring your property is safe and recouping costs that may be incurred as part of the clean-up.

Alternatively, you could contact an LAA and licensed contractor directly to arrange an assessment, advice, and cleanup of your property. We recommend you contact your insurance company and obtain your own advice as to whether these costs will be recoverable.

What should I do if I rent the property?

If you are a tenant and you believe there may be asbestos fragments on your property, please report them to City of Newcastle and contact your landlord or leasing agent immediately, who will need to seek specialist advice on your behalf and confirm that the property is fit for habitation. 

Landlords have legal responsibilities to provide rental properties that are fit for habitation, under section 52 of the Residential Tenancies Act 2010. Feel free to provide this letter for their information.

Since Tuesday 19 May, authorised contractors have been conducting a rolling assessment and cleanup of the public spaces across those areas where asbestos has been identified. This includes a thorough clean-up of public spaces like roadways and verges. 

Our clean-up of public spaces involves two key actions: hand picking larger fragments of suspect material to remove them, followed by a dry vacuum to remove smaller fragments that may have been missed once weather conditions allow in spaces where required.

Last night, we received clearance for Waratah Street, Texas Street, and the southern part of Denison Street, which means they now return to normal access arrangements. Spaces still inside the fenced area include Denison Street (between Maitland Road and Waratah Street) and Ironstone Lane, with clean-up in those areas continuing in conjunction with making the warehouse site safe. 

Please continue to follow signage in the area and directions from crews on the ground.

This update is intended to inform the community on progress of recovery activities across public and private spaces following the fire at Hunter Valley Whitegoods store in Mayfield on 18 May.

Small amounts of bonded asbestos debris have been observed on approximately five residential properties opposite Hunter Valley Whitegoods, the first-floor carpark of the building next to Hunter Valley Whitegoods as well as Denison Street and the laneway adjacent to Hunter Valley Whitegoods.

Additionally, assessors have also found small fragments of debris in public spaces in the surrounding area, including on Texas Street, Waratah Street, and Denison Street.

What is happening to clean up asbestos fragments?

Since Tuesday 19 May, authorised contractors have been conducting a rolling assessment and cleanup of the public spaces across those areas where asbestos has been identified. This includes a thorough clean-up of public spaces like roadways and verges.

You will have noticed traffic control on site since Tuesday, including closures of various roads in the area as we have conducted investigations and clean-up activities.

We are prioritising these clean-up and investigation efforts and as such, there will be a mix of day and night works which will continue across the weekend and into next week.

Road closures will continue in the area accordingly and may stretch into additional areas if we identify a need. We ask that you please always follow signage and the direction of traffic controllers in the area.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation throughout this time.