My Account
The kindness that Bayview Dairy owners Daniel and Maria Lee have shown their customers over many years is being repaid by the community, following the fire which completely destroyed the dairy overnight on January 4.
That support began on the night of the fire, with several nearby residents calling Fire and Emergency once the alarms in the Vipond Road store went off. Neighbours comforted the pair as the blaze took over the shop, provided a place for the Lees to stay that night, and later organised temporary accommodation in the area where the couple can stay while the fire damage to their adjacent home is repaired.
“The whole community has taken them under their wing,” neighbour Lyn Peters says. “They are a lovely couple, always happy to help others, and we are right behind them.”
The Lees have owned and operated the dairy for 26 years. After hearing the alarm, they initially tried to put out the fire themselves using a fire extinguisher and hose. They ask for privacy as they recover from their devastating loss.
The red glow from the intense fire could be seen from miles around and nearby residents were on high alert as embers blew across Vipond Road, singeing trees. Neighbours say it was thanks to firefighters that the Lees’ home was not also destroyed.
Silverdale volunteer station officer Ian Adolph was in charge at the scene. He says when firefighters arrived, which included volunteer crews from Silverdale and Manly, backed up by crews from East Coast Bays, Albany and Birkenhead, the building was already engulfed in fire. Strong, gusty north-east winds made firefighting difficult. Two low pressure hose lines and a monitor (unmanned high pressure water) were used to extinguish the fire.
One of the main objectives was protecting the neighbouring property, especially as high winds were pushing the fire in that direction.
All the nearby residents spoken to by Hibiscus Matters are hopeful that the dairy can eventually be rebuilt. The Lees, who are in their 60s, own the property and it has been their livelihood ever since they moved here from Korea.
A dairy has been on that site for more than 70 years and neighbours say it is valued and popular with residents who would otherwise have further to go for their grocery essentials.
Neighbour Krys Keogh says at the moment, getting the Lees back into their home is the number one priority.
“But we are all looking forward to them opening the shop doors once again,” she says.
An investigation into the fire is still underway, however Fire and Emergency say it was not suspicious. At this stage, fire investigators believe that the power pole beside the shop, which was damaged due to the fire (exposure damage), and has since been replaced, was not the cause of the fire.
