Strange sight in Westfield car park stumps Aussies: 'What are these?'
Some shoppers wondered what was on the roof.
An eagle-eyed shopper was baffled after spotting an unusual installation on the roof of a Westfield car park last week and took to social media for answers.
"What are these things that are hanging from the ceiling of the Westfield Kotara parking lot?" the shopper from Newcastle posted on Reddit after their visit.
A photo shared online shows multiple even rows of brownish-grey blobs hanging upside down from the ceiling. Many compared the unusual "things" to a hornet's nest made from the wasp's saliva and wood pulp.
"Hornets' nest, run!," one person wrote somewhat sarcastically. "It’s the start of the invasion," another joked.
But others offered a more plausible explanation suggesting it has something to do with fireproofing — and it turns out they're right.
Shopping centre explains find on car park roof
Scentre Group, Westfield's parent company, confirmed to Yahoo News shoppers have nothing to be concerned about as the blobs found on the roof are simply a fireproofing measure.
The company said it's required on all structural elements within Westfield parking lots as part of its general safety and standard operation standards. The company did not explain further.
Providing more detail, one Reddit user suggested: "If a fire starts in the basement it stops the heat melting the bolts, and the fire travelling through the ceiling into the upper floors".
"I have always assumed it’s spray concrete over bolts, but don’t know for sure," another said. "Yeah looks like fireproofing for structural bolts," a third wrote.
Guy Lightfoot from NSW Fire and Rescue confirmed to Yahoo News Australia what some Redditors thought. From the appearance of the photo, he said it appears the bolts have been covered in vermiculite, which expands when heated. It's applied to steel and concrete structures to increase their fire resistance.
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