FUNGUS-infected canisters of paint and aerosols are believed to have been behind ongoing explosions during today’s West Footscray blaze, it has been revealed at a community meeting.
Concerned locals have attended the emergency meeting at the Footscray Town Hall, where they were told the fire, at a factory storing hazardous chemicals, could continue for days.
MFB acting chief officer Greg Leach said it was thought recycled canisters of paint and aerosols, some with fungus growing inside, were the cause of the ongoing explosions.
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Mr Leach told frustrated business owners that authorities would do their best to ensure access was granted where possible.
“We’re going to be on site for a number of days. We’ll do our best to get you in tomorrow,” Mr Leach said.
Locals were told there was no immediate concerns for health and safety, but to stay vigilant and updated via social media and emergency apps.
An alert issued by emergency services reports that smoke in the area is decreasing but showers overnight and on Friday may push the plume — which smells like nail polish and contains poisonous chemicals — closer to the ground.
Business owner Mark Kelly said his main concern was for his workers.
“We sent all of staff home at about 11.30am when they raised the weather warning.”
The exact cause of the out-of-control fire is still unknown.
Firefighters will work through the night to battle the inferno at the intersection of Somerville and Paramount roads, 9km west of the CBD.
As people head home from work and school, residents have been urged to stay indoors, close doors and windows and stay away from the fire.
The fire is not disrupting Metro or VLine train services in the area and buses are running as normal. Drivers are reporting visible smoke but it is not impacting services.
Firefighters said the blaze was one of the biggest in Melbourne for a long time but there was no reason to believe it was suspicious at this stage.
Mr Leach said it had been a “long, protracted event” and fire crews would spend several days at the scene.
“We will be here well into the night,” he said.
“We will be here for many days cleaning up the site and making sure the fire is completely blacked out.”
“It’ll be a three or four day operation at least, I reckon. We’re not going to know until we get in there,” he added.
Mr Leach said firefighters received a call to the premises before 5am and were confronted with a large warehouse building fully involved in fire.
He told reporters there was a high fuel load, including hazardous chemicals inside and the defensive attack by firefighters sent up a large plume.
“The focus has been trying to protect the neighbouring buildings, preventing further buildings from catching on fire, before we focused on trying to extinguish the fire,” he said.
Mr Leach said the occupier renting the site had been in the process of moving out of the property.
Both he and the new occupier who is moving in had co-operated with authorities today, Mr Leach said.
State emergency commissioner Andrew Crisp defended the decision not to send out text message alerts to neighbouring residents.
He said the emergency alert was reserved for when there was an immediate threat to life.
“There’s always an opportunity after any operation to look back at what happened and if there’s an opportunity to do things better we’ll certainly be exploring that,” he said.
Environmental Protection Authority chief scientist Andrea Hinwood told reporters air monitoring would continue but because the plume was sitting quite high, there was not a lot of damage to air quality. But she urged people to heed emergency warnings.
“It’s a complex mixture of gases and particles and it’s got that acrid smell associated, so it can be irritating to people who are sensitive,” she said.
Residents in suburbs across Melbourne’s west have been warned to stay away from contaminated waterways and to continue keeping windows closed if they are susceptible to respiratory conditions such as asthma.
However, water run-off near Stony Creek in the Yarra River and possibly down into Hobsons Bay, around Williamstown, is also a concern and people should not go near or touch the water.
Melbourne Water has advised residents that significant amounts of fire water is running into Stony Creek and is now deemed toxic.
There are solvents and paint in the water, which may reach the Yarra River and Hobsons Bay in the vicinity of Spotswood, Newport and Williamstown.
Families have been advised by Melbourne Water and the EPA not to use Cruickshank Park or cross the creek while Melbourne Water attempts to divert water into sewers.
Ms Hinwood said water running off from the firefighting effort containing an unknown chemicals was causing a more immediate concern for the EPA
“It is a large volume that is in Stoney Creek,” she said.
“We are monitoring it, but we know you can see it.
“Please, if anyone going down near Stony Creek, in the Yarra River where it comes out, possibly down into Hobson’s Bay around Williamstown, Spotswood and around those areas, please don’t go in the water, don’t put your hands in it.
“It is discoloured and you should be able to see it.”
West footscray fire disaster for Stony Creek pic.twitter.com/aGWXP9Fg4Y
— steven wilson (@stevenwilson301) August 30, 2018
The advice area now extends to the western suburbs south of the West Gate Freeway to Port Phillip Bay, including Point Cook and Altona (see full list below).
Currently they say there is no threat to the community, but continue to advise those sensitive to smoke to close windows and doors, and turn off airconditioning systems.
Firefighters are hoping they can bring the blaze ‘under control’ this afternoon, although that doesn’t mean the fire is out.
More than 50 schools and early childhood centres closed across Melbourne’s west because of the blaze.
A total 12 government schools — primary and secondary — and almost 30 early childhood centres closed in Footscray and the surrounding suburbs (see full list below).
What we know so far
— Fire in Somerville Rd factory started at 5am
— Fire crews say oxyacetylene and acetone, a ‘colourless, volatile, flammable liquid’, are behind the explosions
— The MFB says there is a large amount of toxic smoke coming from the site
— Residents told close doors and windows, turn off reverse-cycle airconditioning
— Pet owners have been advised to keep animals inside if possible
— Somerville Rd, Tottenham is closed to traffic between Geelong Rd and McDonald Rd
— Paramount Rd is closed between Sunshine Rd and Somerville Rd
— Local workers have been evacuated and businesses closed
— 30 trucks and more than 140 firefighters involved
— Fire half size of MCG oval
Warning area spreads
The watch and act warning from authorities, advising people impacted by the smoke plume to shelter indoors, has been issued for 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.
Anyone within 500 metres of the fire or affected by the smoke should take shelter inside immediately.
Makes my flight from Tassie a bit different. pic.twitter.com/mtqWPwoFyg
— Lucas (@RucasJ) August 29, 2018
SMOKE CONTROL REMAINS PRIORITY
Metropolitan Fire Brigade incident controller Ken Brown earlier said that oxyacetylene and acetone in the factory were “giving us grief with a number of explosions”.
MFB hazmat technicians and scientific officers visited nearby schools to monitor whether there was a dangerous level of toxic smoke drifting from the fire.
Mr Brown said there had so far been no spikes in their readings that had raised concerns and
their focus was on determining what was hazardous inside the building and extinguishing those items.
A post-incident analysis would review the contents of the site as part of the fire investigation, he said.
He said the blaze had been contained to the warehouse storage facility.
“Our containment strategy has been successful in stopping it (spreading) now we’ll put an extinguishing strategy to knock the fire down so we can minimise the smoke on the community then we’ll do an investigation into what’s caused it,” he said.
Businesses in Somerville Rd were evacuated and workers from nearby factories told they wouldn’t be working.
The fire is an “eight alarm fire”, a similar rating to the Coolaroo recycling plant fire in 2017.
Premier Daniel Andrews was briefed by Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp this morning and said it was a “very, very challenging fire”.
He urged locals to heed the warnings.
Drivers are being urged to use Geelong Rd or Sunshine Rd to avoid road closures, with Somerville Rd and Paramount Rd still closed.
A black morning in the West.. 😪 pic.twitter.com/siIoIpTcqB
— Chris Eddy (@chriseddyexec) August 29, 2018
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