Flames surround General Pants’ HQ in Alexandria fire

Heather McIlvaine

29th Oct 2019

Images and videos of a raging blaze in the Sydney suburb of Alexandria showed General Pants’ head office surrounded by flames and smoke this morning, after a fire in a nearby tile factory spread throughout the business complex where the retailer is based.

According to media reports, 100 firefighters were dispatched to battle the blaze on Beaconsfield Street, which broke out around 2am on Tuesday morning. The fire was fuelled by the highly combustible contents, including furniture, oil and paint thinners, which had been stored in some of the units.

No injuries had been reported at the time of this writing, but dozens of people in nearby businesses were evacuated.

General Pants CEO Sacha Laing told Inside Retail no staff were injured in the fire and that it was business as usual for the retailer’s stores and warehouse, which is located in Melbourne.

The company posted a message on its website, warning customers that it might not be able to deliver next-day orders due to an “interruption to [its] normal service”.

“Of course we are very grateful that there have been no injuries,” Laing said.

Several retailers have offices and warehouses in Alexandria, including GlamCorner, Koala, Coco Republic, Gelato Messina and The Iconic, but no other businesses reported being impacted by the fire.

This story first appeared on sister site, Inside Retail.