2019 Campbellfield factory fire
Date5 April 2019
Time06:40 AEST
LocationCampbellfield, Victoria, Australia
Coordinates37°38′45″S 144°56′28″E / 37.645925°S 144.9410784°E / -37.645925; 144.9410784
CauseUnknown
Deaths0
Non-fatal injuries2 (both serious)

The 2019 Campbellfield factory fire was a major industrial fire that began in Campbellfield, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on 5 April 2019. The size of the fire site was about 5,000 square metres (53,819.55 sq ft), and it emitted toxic smoke across the city's northern suburbs.[1] The fire was finally extinguished four days after it started.[2]

The company which operated the property where the fire took place, Bradbury Industrial Services, collapsed in July 2019, leaving taxpayers to potentially foot a multimillion-dollar clean-up bill.[3] On 1 August 2019, the administrators for the company were given three months to clean up the site.[4]

Background

The fire occurred at a waste management factory owned by Bradbury Industrial Services on Thornycroft St at 6:40 am.[5] Buildings and vehicles were turned into fireballs and chemical drums sent soaring high above the warehouse as the inferno raged for hours. A witness in a nearby suburb to the fire said he saw a "massive explosion that looked like a mushroom cloud".[1] Two other fires had broken out in the facility previously.[6]

Bradbury Industrial Services provides storage and disposal services for hazardous and industrial waste, and specialises in treating solvent and other waste from paint and related industries.[7]

Fire

Metropolitan Fire Brigade firefighters brought the blaze under control by midday on 5 April; however, the fire was not fully extinguished until four days later.[2] About thirty people were believed to have escaped the building before the firefighters arrived. At least two factory workers were hospitalised as a result of severe burns from the fire, with one employee receiving an eye injury.

The fire was initially contained within four hours by 175 firefighters.[8] Fire crews remain at the scene, using heat-detection devices to continually identify and dampen-down hotspots.[6][9] The fire forced the closure of nearby schools and businesses. Some residents fled their homes to escape toxic fumes.[10]

A number of schools and kindergartens in proximity to the fire were closed as of 7 April including:[11]

Investigations

Investigations into the cause of the fire were started on 9 April, involving police, fire investigators from the Melbourne Metropolitan Fire Brigade, WorkSafe Victoria, and the Victorian Coroner.[2] Initial speculations focused on the illegal or improper storage of flammable chemical waste.[5]

The fire began less than one day after Victorian Environment Protection Authority authorities inspected the factory, and fifteen days[8] after the factory had its license revoked for storing three times[12] as much waste as it was permitted.[13] The EPA's inspection on 4 April discovered 300,000 litres of chemicals inside.[14]

EPA executive director Damian Wells said the factory contained "highly flammable materials".[5]

The EPA has begun an independent review into its systems and processes for dealing with toxic waste.

References

  1. 1 2 "Melbourne factory fire may burn for days, as authorities reveal site had licence suspended". The New Daily. 4 April 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 Koob, Simone Fox (9 April 2019). "Arson squad to probe warehouse blaze after fireys finally put it out". The Age. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  3. ↑ Company behind Campbellfield fire collapses, taxpayers could foot bill
  4. ↑ "EPA sets deadline on Campbellfield chemical waste cleanup". The Age. 1 August 2019. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 "Toxic fire finally contained at waste factory". www.9news.com.au. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  6. 1 2 "Cambellfield Fire Cleanup At Bradbury Industrial Services". ABC News. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  7. ↑ Dunstan, Joseph; Rizmal, Zalika (5 April 2019). "Melbourne chemical blaze under control, but likely to burn for days". ABC News. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  8. 1 2 "Campbellfield fire hazard was known before massive blaze". Star Weekly. 8 April 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  9. ↑ Koob, Chris Vedelago, Sumeyya Ilanbey, Simone Fox (5 April 2019). "Campbellfield toxic fire: Warehouse operator linked to four other chemical stockpiles". The Age. Retrieved 7 April 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ↑ Fowler, Matilda Boseley, Goya Dmytryshchak, Michael (7 April 2019). "'Toxic rainbow' after Campbellfield factory fire fuels residents' fears". The Age. Retrieved 7 April 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ↑ "Campbellfield fire: List of schools, kinders, childcare centres closed due to smoke". www.news.com.au. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  12. ↑ Turbet, Hanna Mills (5 April 2019). "Massive Campbellfield fire at factory where chemicals stored causes toxic smoke plumes". The Age. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  13. ↑ "Melbourne factory fire in Campbellfield: Bradbury Industrial ablaze as warnings issued for Broadmeadows, Coburg, Pascoe Vale". www.news.com.au. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  14. ↑ "Burning factory had three times as many chemicals as allowed, EPA says". The Age. 5 April 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2019.

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