Two fires have started at separate transfer and recycling stations in less than 24 hours, amid concerns about a dangerous bushfire season.
The fires follow a September review by the Resource Recovery Facilities Audit Taskforce that found the sector was "generally poorly prepared and ill-equipped when it comes to managing fire risks at their facilities".
About 35 firefighters were called to the Anglesea Transfer Station on Coalmine Road on Sunday, the morning after another fire at a transfer station in Wantirna South.
An excavator at Anglesea was working to pull apart a burning pile up to 30 metres wide and five metres deep on Sunday afternoon.
A CFA spokesperson said the fire was mainly household rubbish and dirt. The Lara HAZMAT truck has been called to do atmospheric monitoring, and the CFA expects it to smoulder for a while.
Knox transfer station goes up in flames again.
Nearby residents were advised to avoid the area and to close windows and doors, turn off heating and cooling systems if they are sensitive to smoke.
Just before 4.30pm on Saturday, more than 70 firefighters from the CFA and MFB were called to Knox Transfer and Recycling Facility, where more than 400 mattresses were alight, with thick smoke blanketing Wantirna South.
A CFA spokeswoman said a mattress shredder was the cause of the blaze. It was the second time a shredder had caused a fire at the facility, she said.
Residents were warned to stay indoors and close their windows.
The blaze was under control by 6.22pm, and by 10.30pm the CFA had issued an all-clear for residents. The last fire truck left the scene at 11pm.
The CFA spokeswoman said the fire was not suspicious.
Environment Protection Authority spokesman Terry Sefton said air monitoring was not requested but that an investigation had begun to see if any breaches of the law Environment Protection Act had occurred.
An EPA officer inspected the area and reported the fire-fighting water had been contained on site.
This is the second fire at the Knox Transfer Station this year, with another in April burning for days, and taking 125 firefighters to contain.
Frustrated locals have called for the facility to be shut down.
Firefighters attend to a blaze at the Knox Transfer Station in Wantirna South in April.Credit: AAP
“This place has gone up three times now, the second time in less than a year,” one man said.
“The previous time this went up, it damaged all the forest that people spent months planting and it damaged the bridge on the bike path.
“They should close the bloody thing down."
The transfer station fires come after the CFA took the unprecedented step of moving the start of the fire season for parts of Victoria to September 10, following record heat and well-below-average rainfall.
A CFA spokesperson said it had adequate resources, and would pull from other areas if needed, to fight fires at a recycling station and a bushfire if they burn at the same time.
In July, SKM Recycling caught alight in Coolaroo. An MFB statement said the fire was burning through bales of co-mingled recycling material in a shed 100 metres by 50 metres.
It took days for fire fighters to bring the football field-sized fire at SKM Recycling in 2017 under control.Credit: Channel Seven
The same facility caught fire and burnt for 20 days in July, 2017, with toxic smoke leading to evacuations and 16 people needing medical attention.
The fire highlighted that stockpiled combustible materials need to be managed to reduce the risk of fires at these sites.
The Victorian government established the Resource Recovery Facilities Audit Taskforce to inspect resource recovery facilities across the state and tackle stockpiles that might pose a fire risk.
As of September 10, the taskforce had identified 800 sites. More than 700 had been assessed against a range of criteria, with 345 sites having evidence of stockpiles. The taskforce issued 79 remedial notices and 13 sanctions.
Penalties range from official warnings, infringement notices of about $8000 and, for more serious offences, possible prosecution.
Mr Sefton said one of the objectives of the taskforce was to ensure there were emergency management plans, fire-fighting infrastructure and correct separation distances between waste piles and buildings.
"Over the past 12 months the work conducted by the taskforce has demonstrated significant reduction in fire frequency and severity, which has a direct consequence in the areas of lessening the impact of fire on the community and the environment," he said.
On May 23, the Wantirna South site was inspected by the taskforce and deemed to be compliant with waste management policy.
Minister for Environment Lily D'Ambrosio said the government had strengthened the powers of the EPA to help reduce the risk of fires at recycling facilities.
“We’re giving the EPA the powers and tools it needs to do its job and protect the community from harm.”
With Erin Pearson and Anthony Colangelo