By Angus Dalton and Pallavi Singhal
More than 120 firefighters worked to extinguish a large fire at a garbage shed in Sydney’s south on Saturday night after a pile of waste went up in flames about 8am.
Fire and Rescue NSW dispatched 30 fire trucks to the site on Lindsay Street, in Rockdale, as thick black smoke billowed over the city’s south.
More than 120 firefighters worked to contain the blaze.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
Crews fought the blaze for more than eight hours. People living and working near the Cleanaway Rockdale Resource Recovery Centre were evacuated.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Fire and Rescue NSW urged residents in the area to stay inside and shut their doors, windows and air vents.
“There’s lots of smoke in the area. We are advising people to stay away and stay indoors,” said Fire & Rescue NSW Superintendent Adam Dewberry. “It’s not good to breathe in, obviously.”
Dewberry said the fire was contained, but that firefighters would be working into the evening at the site.
An excavator was clearing extra garbage away from the area and fire crews were spreading out the rubbish so that it could be fully extinguished.
Earlier, at 10am, an emergency text alert was issued to people in the area and residents were told to avoid Bay Street, West Botany Street, President Avenue and The Grand Parade.
Local businesses close to the garbage shed, including a neighbouring Fitness First, were shut down.
Firefighters at the scene of the fire in Rockdale on Saturday.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
Peter Perivolarellis was evacuated from Repco Rockdale on West Botany Street, where he works, at about 9am as the fire burned close to the back of the store.
“The blaze is quite large but under control,” he said. “The firies got on the scene quite quickly.”
Perivolarellis said he suspected one of the nearby garbage facilities was on fire when a customer told him there was smoke outside.
Customers and staff were evacuated from Repco Rockdale about 9am on Saturday.Credit: Fire and Rescue NSW
“This isn’t the first time this has happened,” said Perivolarellis. “But the last fire wasn’t to this scale and got put out in an hour or so. This is one of the worst ones I’ve seen for sure.”
Brighton Le Sands resident Zin Snehal Kamble, who lives about a kilometre from the warehouse, said there was smoke throughout the area and urged shoppers to avoid Rockdale Plaza.
“About 8.30 I heard sirens and helicopters,” she said. “On Saturday people go up to Rockdale Plaza. For senior citizens the smoke is so bad – I’m worried about them being out today.”
Thick black smoke billowing from the facility was visible from Sydney Airport, where tens of thousands of travellers arrived early for their long-weekend departures after Friday’s queuing chaos and delays.
The shed’s operator, Cleanaway, confirmed the fire flared up at its Rockdale facility.
“The site was fully evacuated and there were no injuries from staff on site or in the community,” a Cleanaway spokesperson said. “We’re working to control the impact of the fire.”
Cleanaway’s head of corporate affairs, Mark Biddulph, said the cause of the fire would be investigated.
He said waste facility fires were often sparked by lithium batteries and gas bottles, which – when incorrectly disposed – can cause fires at dumps and in garbage trucks.
The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.