State Coroner to launch probe into massive West Footscray factory fire

The state coroner will investigate a huge suspicious fire that took hold of a factory and caused a major smoke event in West Footscray earlier this year.

The State Coroner will investigate a huge suspicious fire that took hold of a factory and caused a major smoke event in West Footscray earlier this year.

The extraordinary move to hold an investigation by a body that normally deals with fatalities comes as police continue to investigate the cause of the blaze, which burnt for days and caused acrid smoke to blanket parts of the city’s west.

The arson squad would be looking for a firebug if it was deemed deliberate.

FACTORY FIRE BURNING OUT OF CONTROL

FACTORY’S TOXIC SMOKE STILL SPREADING

QUERY OVER FACTORY’S CHEMICAL USE

The blaze generated extreme heat and released toxic fumes across more than a dozen suburbs after it erupted on August 30.

The Herald Sun has been told that the heat was so intense in the 14,000 sq m building that workers said the soles of their shoes were dissolving a week even after the fire.

The Coroners Court confirmed last night it would investigate.

Under the Coroners Act 2008, the Country Fire ­Authority or Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board can ask the coroner to investigate a fire even if it is non-fatal.

The coroner must investigate, if they deem it in the public interest.

The investigation could help identify systemic failings and the coroner could make recommendations to help prevent or deal with future emergencies.

The coroner could also rule on the cause and source location of a fire, in cases where those factors have not been identified.

WorkSafe Victoria said the warehouse was not registered under the Dangerous Goods Act, which enables authorities to identify and monitor sites that contain combustible materials, poisons and other dangerous products.

Acrid smoke billows from a factory fire in West Footscray last August. Picture: Nicole Garmston

Victoria Police declined to comment on its ongoing ­investigation as the matter is before the coroner.

Other major fires that have been investigated ­recently include the Wye River and Separation Creek bushfires of Christmas 2015, in which 116 houses were ­destroyed.

A finding in that event was made without an ­inquest.

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