The origins of the November 2014 Lacrosse fire were
disturbingly everyday: an abandoned midnight cigarette, a makeshift
ashtray in the form of a plastic food container, and a wooden
table. Within 12 minutes, 14 floors of the building's external
wall cladding were on fire. In 'an outcome that should not
go unremarked',1 all 400 or so occupants were
safely evacuated.
However, not all have escaped the fire unscathed. The owners
(and the owners' corporation) suffered significant financial
loss, and consequently brought a claim in the Victorian Civil and
Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) against the
construction professionals involved in the construction of the
Lacrosse building. With VCAT's long-awaited decision now
released, it is the prime time to consider the lessons learned from
Lacrosse and to ask: how can construction professionals protect
themselves when faced with similar claims? And what lessons can
developers, owners and builders take from this case?
