West Footscray blaze sparks memories of Melbourne’s worst mega fires

A BLACK plume of toxic smoke is hanging over Melbourne’s western suburbs as a factory fire burns out of control today. It’s not the first time toxic clouds have menaced Melbourne and Victoria. Here’s a list of some of our worst industrial blazes.

THE black plume hangs over the West Gate Bridge from the city approach.

It covers Melbourne like a dark cloud; from Hawthorn, and from Frankston, it can be seen to be moving slowly south, as planes bank above.

Below the haze, kids at Altona North Primary School - more than 5km from where the black smoke billows fast from the West Footscray warehouse blaze - are beginning to smell the smoke, in what is described as burnt plastic.

INFERNO SENDS TOXIC SMOKE OVER MELBOURNE

Plumes of smoke near Sommerville road in West Footscray this morning. Picture: Nicole Garmston

That school, as with all schools bar one in the area, are open for the day, despite widespread disquiet about the haze which is said to be heading towards the Mornington Peninsula.

Parents of asthmatics are wondering whether they did the right thing by sending their kids to school.

There are more questions right now than answers.

What’s in the smoke?

Is it dangerous?

Where is it headed and how long will it billow?

Locals have expressed surprise about the absence of evacuations or official warnings. Something like 84,000 residents live in surrounding suburbs.

An official text warning advised them to “watch and act” many hours after residents started hearing explosions at the nearby warehouse.

They’ve been told to close doors and windows.

The hope is that the wind is kind and that the smoke is not as toxic as it smells.

Today’s incident is not the first time an industrial blaze has caused havoc in Melbourne and Victoria. Here’s some of Victoria’s worst industrial fires.

Coode Island, August 1991

Smoke from the Coode Island chemical fire drifts over Melbourne.

A fire ripped through Coode Island in Melbourne’s west in August 1991 sparking a major emergency after a 600,000 litre chemical storage tank exploded.

The fire caused by the explosion burned other chemicals stored in tanks on the island and formed clouds of black smoke seen up to 30km away.

An aerial view of the fire at Coode Island.

Nearby Footscray Primary School, buildings and even ships were evacuated with an exclusion zone put in place.

It took 155 firefighters three hours to bring the blaze under control.

Two were injured in the process.

The day after the blaze was brought under control a ruptured pipeline caused an explosion in another storage tank that produced a fireball which spread to other storage tanks.

Esso Longford explosion, 1998

The core of one of the fires burning at Esso Longford.

Two workers were killed after an explosion at the Esso gas plant in Longford at Gippsland in 1998.

Another eight were injured in the explosion and gas supplies were affected for two weeks after the tragedy.

A rupture on a pump was blamed for the explosion and the company was fined $2 million at the time.

Esso workers ride past gas plant 2 at the Esso Longford plant in 1998 after two men were killed in an explosion.

“The events of September 25, 1998, were the responsibility of Esso, no one else,” Justice Justice Phillip Cummins later said.

There had been a lack of training, safety systems, and procedures to deal with a major emergency.

Broadmeadows Tyre fire, 2016

The Broadmeadows tyre inferno. Picture: Nicole Garmston

A tyre yard in Broadmeadows caught fire in January 2016 and burned for more than 24 hours, with the acrid smoke spreading over the western suburbs.

The fire started at 9am on January 11. The toxic smoke plume could be seen as far away as Rye on the Mornington Peninsula.

Firefighters battle the Broadmeadows blaze. Picture: Nicole Garmston

More than 70 firefighters, from the MFB, CFA and Melbourne Airport, battled through the night in order to douse the blaze.

Even air support was called in.

Coolaroo Recycling blaze, 2017

The fire at the Melbourne recycling plan in Coolaroo last year burnt for 11 days and forced hundreds of people from their homes.

The blaze started on July 13 and people were evacuated from businesses and homes in Dallas because of toxic smoke and ash.

Multiple people needed treatment in hospital, including a four-year-old girl.

At the height of the blaze air quality levels dropped to “very poor” and people were advised to stay away.

The fire at a recycling plant in Maffra Street, Coolaroo. Picture: David Crosling

The Coolaroo recycling plant blaze was fierce and saw black smoke billow across Melbourne. Picture: Hamish Blair

The site was due to be inspected for fire management practices when the blaze started.

More than 70 residents have registered for a legal class action against the operator.

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