‘Mini-Waco’: How sanitiser stockpiled for fly larvae farm sparked Anakie blaze

Tens of thousands of kilograms of expired hand sanitiser that fuelled an enormous suspicious blaze at Anakie was being used to breed maggots, it can be revealed.

Tens of thousands of kilograms of expired hand sanitiser that fuelled an enormous suspicious blaze at Anakie was being used to breed maggots, it can be revealed

Tens of thousands of kilograms of expired hand sanitiser that fuelled an enormous suspicious blaze at Anakie was being used to breed maggots.

The property’s tenant, Andrew Porter, has revealed he was using the highly flammable product to insulate and heat one shed as part of a soldier fly larvae breeding enterprise aiming to supply fish breeders with a sustainable source of feedstock.

A multi-agency investigation has been launched into the inferno that burned for more than 24 hours in a fiery scene described as ‘like a mini-Waco’.

More than 37 fire trucks and over 100 firefighters were called to the fire. Video: Ryan Bourke

Mr Porter claims almost 70 tonnes of the sanitiser was due to be removed within days by the same waste company that supplied him with it, amid allegations they did so without the proper Environment Protection Authority (EPA) approvals and failed to inform him of his obligations as its new owner.

The Melbourne-based company, who the Geelong Advertiser has chosen not to name, had been initially contracted by a leading hygiene and sanitation manufacturer “for a significant amount of money” to transfer it to him in 2023, according to Mr Porter.

“They got it from a group called Thankyou, who thought they were an EPA-licensed company,” he claimed.

“I took it on the basis that I was going to be insulating one of the sheds and I needed to heat it because the larvae needed a controlled environment.”

The scene of a raging inferno in Anakie on Tuesday was breeding black soldier fly larvae (pictured) with up to 70,000kg of expired hand sanitiser on site.

A spokesman for Thankyou Group, based in Collingwood, said they had been made aware of the fire and was “deeply concerned about the situation”.

“We note this matter is under investigation by the EPA, and therefore, it’s not appropriate to comment at this time,” he said.

Mr Porter had been issued with EPA notices about the sanitiser that were “still being worked through” before the firestorm, according to the EPA.

The product is highly flammable due to its alcohol content.

Five-metre high flames reached into the night sky above the metal sheds at the fire’s peak on Tuesday, with stunned onlookers stopping to watch huge explosions from a nearby road.

It’s believed ammunition and gas cylinders were among the site’s contents.

Farming equipment and machinery, three boats and a bus also went up in flames.

One witness said the scene “looked like a mini-Waco” in reference to a deadly fire and siege in Texas that ended with a large compound burning to the ground.

No injuries were reported in the blaze, which happened about 25 minutes out of Geelong.

Detectives from the arson squad and Geelong CIU have spent hours at the Ballan Rd site as they piece together how it was ignited

Police confirmed on Friday it was being treated as suspicious.

No charges have been laid and the investigation is ongoing.

Mr Porter has alleged the waste company never informed him the sanitiser would be subject to “reportable priority waste” guidelines requiring an EPA license to ship, store, or dispose of it.

Asked if he believes it failed to do any of the due diligence required by the EPA, Mr Porter said “that’s correct”.

“Now we are all going to get charged because I received and stored it without the EPA licences, and they shipped it and stored it without EPA licences,” he claimed.

Police extinguish the last few spot fires after allowing the blaze to 'burn through' the highly flammable materials at Anakie. Photo: Ryan Bourke.

The company has been contacted for comment but declined to respond amid pending EPA and Victoria Police investigations. Both probes are running separately.

Mr Porter had been renting the shed on 3000 sqm of industrial land for BSF Organic Farms.

The company uses maggots from the black soldier fly with the by-product producing a protein source that can be used as high-quality animal feed.

“I’ve been doing research and development for about four years and I was just about to commercialise,” he said.

“We even had a grant from the CSIRO for a project that proved the larvae are four times better than greenlit muscles for immune-stimulatory and anti-inflammatory effects in the fish they feed.”

Authorities are treating the fire as suspicious. Photo: Ryan Bourke.

The site’s owner, Victor Bulic, was at the scene on Wednesday but declined to comment.

More than 50 emergency vehicles and 100 firefighters were called to his property on Tuesday night, with nearby residents told to stay indoors due to the potentially toxic smoke.

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Originally published as ‘Mini-Waco’: How sanitiser stockpiled for fly larvae farm sparked Anakie blaze