‘No immediate threat’: Thick black smoke billows from Viva Refinery, Corio
A massive black smoke plume visible across Geelong has sparked community fears, however authorities have assured there is “no immediate threat”.
Geelong residents have raised concerns after thick black smoke was seen billowing from the Viva Refinery in Corio on Friday afternoon.
At least five emergency vehicles responded to the incident, with a Fire Rescue Victoria spokeswoman confirming firefighters arrived on scene at 5.55pm.
“A stop was called on the job at 6.04pm and crews returned to the station,” she said.
It is understood a power disruption triggered the large flare, later causing a minor grass fire within the refinery which internal Viva emergency crews responded to.
A community information alert was issued by FRV via Vic Emergency at 7.10pm, stating there was “no concern as the flare is operating according to VIVA operating procedures”.
“Smoke and flame will be visible to the communities within Geelong and surrounding areas from a significant distance,” the alert stated.
“You may see or smell smoke in the area.
“There is no immediate threat to the community and no action is required.”
Dozens of people across the region took to Facebook to express their concerns and share images of the clouds of smoke.
A Viva Energy spokesman confirmed there was a power supply disruption at the refinery.
“This led to a significant process disturbance and resulted in the flare emitting smoke.
“The power outage had a flow-on impact on to the refinery, with a number of processing units having to be shut down. In these scenarios, the flare system provides a safe outlet so that impacted equipment can be depressured in a controlled way,” he said.
The processing units have since been restarted.
“Viva Energy acknowledges that the flare on Friday evening led to some community concern and apologises for this,” the spokesman said.
More Coverage
Originally published as ‘No immediate threat’: Thick black smoke billows from Viva Refinery, Corio
