Generator fumes are being investigated as the cause of an incident that has left one worker dead and another critically ill at a bakery in Ferntree Gully.
Emergency crews found the body of the deceased worker shortly before 7:00am Sunday morning while a colleague who was found unconscious beside him was taken to hospital in a critical condition.
Electricity in the Melbourne suburb has been switched off during maintenance and the bakery was using a petrol generator inside the building.
Whilst police cannot yet confirm their suspicions, they believe that the men were overcome by fumes. Fire-fighters used special gas detection equipment and cleared the building before ambulance officers were able to reach the men.
Petrol generators and other similar equipment often run on carbon dioxide-emitting engines and should be kept outside to allow for ventilation.
It is possible the two men were sleeping out the back whilst the fumes built up in the enclosed space.
The incident is being investigated by Worksafe.