A Franz Josef mechanic fought with his partner before arming himself with a stash of weapons, mounting a bulldozer with oil in its bucket and flattening his prize workshop before torching it.
The whereabouts of popular mechanic Clive Jenkins remain a mystery, but police say no one is at risk.
It has also emerged that his distraught partner told a neighbour the couple were arguing before last night's destructive rampage, which has left the large Donovan Drive property in ruins.
Today detectives and fire investigators were sifting through the burned-out shell of the Franz Josef Mechanical business to determine what happened.
Police have revealed the missing man had a number of firearms wrapped in a blanket and that he was carrying a barrel of oil in the bucket of the bulldozer.
A spokesman said a woman called police around 7.40pm saying her partner was driving a bulldozer over the large workshop and adjoining house and that it was now on fire.
One of the first people at the scene, Franz Alpine Retreat manager Keith Hartley, said a woman arrived on his doostep, drenched after a frantic 400m dash for help.
"She was extremely distressed, dripping wet and she had lost her shoe.
"As she walked in she said, 'look, we had a fight and the place is on fire'."
Hartley, who had just taken over managing the retreat, said he jumped in his ute and raced to the mechanic's two-storey property to see if there was any chance of saving him.
But he was greeted by an inferno.
"By the time I got there the place was completely on fire.
"I yelled out if anyone was inside but there's no way anyone inside could have heard me over the noise of the fire.
"The windows were blowing out and there were explosions going on inside and I couldn't do anything. It was just too dangerous and I high-tailed it."
He said this morning the property was just a burned-out shell.
"I don't think there's anything left inside," he said.
The woman was now being cared for by nearby residents and police.
Locals say the man, a popular and hardworking mechanic, snapped yesterday, taking his frustrations out on his own property using heavy earthmoving equipment to flatten it before destroying everything in a spectacular blaze.
Police said volunteer fire crews were initially hampered by the risk around dangerous goods and severity of the fire and could not tackle the blaze until these were no longer an issue.
The fire was eventually put out at 2.30am, seven hours after it broke out.
Acting West Coast area commander Senior Sergeant Vicki Walker said enquiries were ongoing to find the man, but do not believe he is a threat to anyone.
Friends of the man at the centre of last night's rampage have posted on social media that he was a good man who had worked hard to supply the best service but found it all a bit much.
Said one West Coast local: "A good man who has worked hard with his partners to supply the best service he can found it all a bit much this evening. I'm sure there will be accurate info released tomorrow but for now our little town has lost yet another good man."
Another described him as a "bloody good chap" who went out of his way to help people.
