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ABC News
29 minutes ago
- ABC News
Fire that sent flames onto Hindley Street believed to have started in fryer
Firefighters who responded to a blaze at a business in Adelaide's CBD were met by flames "blasting through the front door", but managed to quickly control them, the MFS has said. The Metropolitan Fire Service was called to the scene about 1:45pm on Hindley Street, where large flames were sending up plumes of smoke above the roof of the building complex. The business at the centre of the fire was one of several located inside the building, which dates back to the early 1900s, and the blaze forced the evacuation of the area. "When I got there and saw that many fire trucks I was like, this is bigger and worse than I even imagined," said neighbouring business owner Jesse Trout. "The whole of Hindley Street from Morphett to King William was blocked off from what I could see. It was crazy." The MFS said about 40 firefighters and 14 vehicles attended the scene and the blaze was "brought under control within 10 minutes", but crews remained on scene for several hours. "MFS evacuated the immediate surrounding area as thick smoke was impacting neighbouring businesses." The MFS said fire investigators were working to determine a cause and an estimated damage bill. "At the moment, we've got it about $300 to $400,000 for the building concerned," MFS commander Declan Dwyer told ABC Radio Adelaide. He said initial reports suggested it was a kitchen fire that started in a deep fryer, and that it was a chef who raised the alarm. "He did exactly the right thing — he just got out, rang triple 0 and got everyone else back and kept everyone safe," he said. "As we turned our appliances onto Hindley Street, we could see there was a considerable amount of smoke coming out of the building, and literally as we were pulling up it flashed over and we had a large column of flames coming out onto the footpath. "We had to try to control the fire and stop it spreading to adjoining businesses and the floors above. We also had to attack it from the back of the building." Mr Dwyer said crews ensured there was no-one in harm's way, but rescued three cats. "They were pretty scared but fortunately they were very cooperative," he said. "These guys had no problems at all with being rescued. They were brought out much to the crowd's delight, I think." The MFS said while adjoining businesses had been spared heat and fire damage, the fire had impacted the building's electricity supply. Mr Trout — who is preparing to open a business next door within days — expressed great relief at the speed of the response. He said he had received an email approving his business's liquor licence just 15 minutes before he was informed of the fire. "We start getting videos from friends, who work in the city, of the building that's connected to us on fire — not just on fire, but full ablaze, like something in a movie," he said. "We just had the excitement of, 'We're finally going to get to open'. "Then we're like, 'Oh my god, maybe it's over before it even began'." He expressed sympathy for the owners of the gutted business, but was relieved that the rest of the building had avoided major damage. "To see them absolutely gutted while their business is absolutely gutted was so sad," he said. "[But] being able to get there so fast and stopping that from spreading into all the other buildings there as fast as [the MFS] did was pretty amazing."
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Stand or sit? The great toilet debate dividing Aussie men
An age-old debate has re-emerged this week, reopening the floodgates on one of the nation's great public toilet debates – just how many Aussie men are choosing a stall rather than a urinal when nature calls. In simple terms, when it comes to doing a number one, do men prefer to sit or stand? The discussion was kicked off on Reddit, where all good toilet debates often start, and it attracted hundreds of comments within hours. The woman who shared the post wrote: 'So all this started when I was asking my husband if it's weird to know that every person you 'go after' in the cubicle has done a number two. 'He said, not necessarily. I'm like, whaaaaatttt? He proceeds to tell me there is a percentage of men who use the cubicle for a wee.' She ended the post, saying, 'Please tell me if this is true or if he's having a laugh'. The comments rolled in, with each side passionately arguing their case. 'I've been using a cubicle since the first time I used a urinal while wearing shorts. There's a tremendous amount of splashback on the legs that I was completely oblivious to prior to that,' said one man. 'A sit-down wee is underrated,' another 'sitzpinkler' said (a German term for a man who sits down to urinate). 'I'm getting old, I need to sit down, one day you'll understand,' wrote another cubicle-goer. Others said there's often social discomfort when using urinals. 'I don't want to stand next to other blokes with my d**k out as we all stand on this metal grate splashing each other's boots with wee, feels weird,' wrote one. Another said it was a hygiene-related choice: 'I saw a video of how far pee can spread when it hits the urinal and have used the cubicle ever since'. Others on 'team cubicle' raised points of 'not having to aim,' 'never any mess to clean,' and 'sitting is more comfortable'. Meanwhile, yet another commenter agreed that the concept of urinals was strange. 'I am literally gay and I still find this bizarre. Standing next to some random guy p*ssing on a wall, p*ss splashing everywhere. No thanks, I want privacy when I go to the toilet,' they said. 'It's the worst thing ever,' someone else chimed in. 'I reckon it's some old-fashioned holdover, the fact that these things still exist'. It's true that urinals go back a long way, though their design has evolved over time. The very first urinals existed in ancient civilisations, with archaeological evidence pointing to stone-carved urinals in Sri Lanka as far back as the 9th century. The modern public urinal as we know it today came into being in 19th-century Paris. In 1834, Claude-Philibert Barthelot de Rambuteau introduced the 'pissoir' – a public urinal system designed to curb public urination in city streets. As urban planning evolved and public sanitation concerns grew, these open-air chambers transitioned to more private urinals inside enclosed toilet blocks in the 19th century. Despite many people turning their backs on the modern-day urinal, some still prefer it over sitting down. 'I don't want to have to touch the cubicle door, so it's the urinal for me,' said someone. 'Urinals for me too – it's usually quicker,' added another. There were also those in the Reddit thread who took a situational approach when deciding whether to stand or sit. 'Only use the cubicle for a wee if the urinal is full and there's a cubicle free,' shared one. And another said: 'I'll only use urinals if I'm the only one around or if they have dividers or there's enough distance from the next person'. 'Whichever one's free,' someone else wrote. A 2023 study by YouGov surveyed men from 13 different countries to see how many sit down when they urinate. The study found Aussie men are among the most enthusiastic sitters, with 25 per cent saying they always sit down to pee. That was the second-highest after Germany (40 per cent), where signs telling men to sit down are common in public toilets. Mexican men were the least likely to sit down at all. So, what's better for health? According to leading GP, Dr Zac, if you're healthy, either way is fine, but if you have Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms, sitting is best. 'For men with no urinary issues, going number one standing vs. sitting doesn't make a difference,' Dr Zac told 'Flow rate, emptying time, post-emptying leftovers – are essentially identical whether you're standing or sitting'. However, men dealing with urinary symptoms might benefit from sitting, he says. A 2014 meta-analysis by researchers from Leiden University Department of Urology in the Netherlands found that, for men with lower urinary tract symptoms, 'the sitting voiding position is preferable to the standing'. Health considerations aside, Dr Zac says it's time society lets go of the idea that standing is the more 'manly' choice. 'Society will nudge you into thinking this, but health-wise sitting has your back (and pelvic floor). It's 2025, not 1883, and we've moved past the idea that only 'real men' stand to pee,' he said.
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Search continues for missing couple Gregory Vaughan and Kim Worner, despite no traces found
The search is continuing for a northern Tasmanian couple who have been missing since taking off from George Town Airport in a light plane almost two weeks ago — despite no trace being found. Pilot Gregory Vaughan, 72, his partner Kim Warner, 66, and their dog Molly, left George Town bound for central New South Wales about 12:45pm on Saturday August 2, but did not arrive at their destination and have not been heard from since. There has also been no sign of their bright green, two-seater Bristell S-LSA aircraft, which police earlier said Mr Vaughan had purchased "three or four months ago". George Town Airport Association president David Brewster has said Mr Vaughan, an experienced pilot, sent a text message to a friend before he departed, but the friend was concerned when he had not heard a departure call over the radio from Mr Vaughan. The plane's transponder was also not tracked during the flight. Tasmania Police said challenging conditions limited search efforts earlier this week, but better weather on Thursday meant the rescue helicopter could be used to sweep Tasmania's north-east coast and the Furneaux group of islands, including Flinders Island. Police said the search area was determined from "drift modelling". Inspector Craig Fox said the helicopter sweeps did not reveal any wreckage or debris that could indicate where the plane was. Inspector Fox said Tasmania Police would review the search operations "daily", and no decision had been made yet to suspend the search. Anyone who has information that could help the search, or who has seen a plane matching the description, or noticed unusual debris or wreckage on land or in the water, is urged to contact Tasmania Police.
