LARGE plumes of smoke are blowing across Melbourne from a toxic factory fire in West Footscray as locals remain locked in their homes waiting for clear air.
Authorities say they won’t get any relief until at least 4pm and firefighters are hoping to have completely contained the blaze by 6pm tonight.
Despite that, Melbourne Fire Brigade’s Greg Leach said crews would stay at the factory for days.
“It’s been a long, protracted event. We will be here well into the night,” Mr Leach told reporters.
“We will be here for many days cleaning up the site and making sure the fire is completely blacked out.”
Strong winds also forced a new, larger Watch and Act warning early this afternoon.
The enormous amount of smoke spread to residents in Altona, Altona East, Altona Gate, Altona North, Brooklyn, Footscray, Kingsville, Newport, Port Melbourne, Seaholme, Seddon, South Kingsville, Spotswood, Sunshine, Tottenham, West Footscray, Williamstown, Williamstown North, Yarraville.
Despite the warning, the state’s emergency management commissioner Andrew Crisp told 3AW the plume was quite high.
“We haven’t used emergency alerts for this particular incident, we generally use those alerts for immediate threat to life,” Mr Crisp said.
“The plume is travelling quite high and then blowing south.
“It’s working in our favour, the plume is rising and blowing away. It is due to rain later today.”
The fire started shortly after 5am at a storage facility in Somerville Road. It followed a series of loud explosions.
“All smoke is toxic,” inspector Ken Brown said.
“If people are inside the plume they shouldn’t be there. They should avoid at all costs. Close your airconditioning, close your windows. If you can go somewhere else, even better.”
The cause of the fire is not yet known but authorities say the building “is constructed of asbestos” and contains a number of chemicals creating a potent smell resembling nail polish.
The fire is still burning and more than 140 firefighters are on the scene, but it’s expected that number will decrease as they try to fight the fire from the air.
Authorities issued a “watch and act” warning shortly before 11am for residents within 500m of the fire while a 2km exclusion zone was established and traffic diverted away from the area.
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Property owners nearby were warned to close their windows and turn off heating systems as winds picked up.
Mr Brown updated the media shortly before 1pm. He said the building contains acetone and oxy acetylene, a chemical used for welding, and that it’s constructed of asbestos, but admitted there are still some unknown chemicals that authorities are working to identify.
“We’re still trying to get a full understanding of the chemicals,” he said. “Until we can confirm that, we can’t elaborate further.”
He said the plan at this stage was to control the smoke by 4pm and try to knock the fire down from above.
Earlier, Mr Brown said a 44-gallon drum exploded and “flew through the air” when firefighters attempted to enter this morning.
He told reporters “asbestos procedures” are in place and firefighters are “wetting down the material” to “minimise the exposure”.
“We’ll do particulate monitoring not just for asbestos but we’ll monitor the particulate matter to make sure of the impact.”
“Fortunately for us the fire in the initial stages was going out over the bay. The people immediately south of the fire in Tottenham have been advised to stay indoors, close their windows.
“They’re quite safe in there and we’ll monitor that for four to six hours before we make a decision. The focus is the community right now.”
Authorities said there is no indication the fire was lit deliberately or that there is any suspicious activity.
‘THE SMOKE CLOUD WAS INSANE’
Lia Fasciale from neighbouring Maribyrnong told news.com.au she left the house and was confronted by the toxic smoke.
Ms Fasciale said she hadn’t seen the news this morning and was unaware that a fire was blowing smoke from the next suburb in her direction.
“The smoke cloud was insane. It (smelled) like a burnt plastic or chemical smell. I didn’t necessarily think smoke or fire. It made my eyes water like crazy.”
A warning was earlier sent out for neighbouring suburbs including Altona North, Braybrook, Brooklyn, Footscray, Kingsville, South Kingsville, Spotswood, Sunshine, Tottenham, West Footscray, Yarraville.
It warned residents they would see flames, black smoke and traffic impacted in the area and that they should keep roads clear and close all windows and doors.
A number of local schools have closed. Parents of children at other schools that remain open have been sent text messages advising them to keep their kids at home if they suffer from respiratory conditions.
‘MY DAUGHTER IS BREATHING THIS CRAP IN’
A resident in Yarraville said he phoned triple-0 to ask to be evacuated because he doesn’t have a car and is worried about his two-year-old daughter breathing in toxic smoke.
He said police told him: “Stay or go, it’s up to you to decide”.
“Police are refusing to help residents near the fire who have no car and small children,” he told news.com.au.
“Do you know how dangerous this fire is to small children. My daughter is breathing this crap in.”
West Footscray is located 7km from Melbourne’s Central Business District and is largely industrial.
The fire is visible from St Kilda, on the other side of the city and as far away 32km southwest of Melbourne.
Pictures from Werribee show smoke billowing across the city skyline. Footage has been published on social media from cars being driven across the Westgate Bridge that overlooks Footscray.
If you need medical advice for exposure to smoke, seek medical advice or call Nurse on Call on 1300 606 024.
Anyone experiencing wheezing, chest tightness and difficulty breathing should call triple-0 (000).
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