The European Canisters of paint and aerosol cans may be the culprits behind continued explosions at an out-of-control blaze at a West Footscray factory, authorities have revealed, but they are still yet to determine the exact cause of the fire.
They also warned that chemicals from the fire were leaking into nearby drains and waterways, including Stony Creek.
Dozens of irate residents piled into the Footscray Town Hall on Thursday evening for a community meeting on the blaze, with some revealing they were suffering from headaches and asthma.
The factory fire has caused toxic smoke to billow across Melbourne’s western suburbs and is one of the biggest blazes the city has seen since the Coode Island disaster of the early 1990s, authorities say.
MFB acting chief officer Greg Leach said authorities had taken swift action and were working alongside Melbourne Water to use pumps to flush out water contaminated by toxic chemicals that had leaked into Stony Creek.
The fire, which has been burning since 5am, is now under control after more than 17 hours.
“The West Footscray fire is now under control. We expect there will be smoke in the area for some time and crews will remain on scene,” the MFB advised shortly after 10pm on Thursday.
“A watch and act advice message remains in place and the community should continue to monitor conditions.”
Footscray resident Polly Bennett, 45, who has chronic asthma, said at the meeting that she was concerned about the air quality in the time before authorities first became aware of the fire on Thursday morning, with fears it could have been burning for hours.
“The warning systems are confusing, conflicting and also they don’t really have proper warning system for people in events like these,” she said.
“For somebody like me, who has chronic asthma, we need to know not just about the overall air quality as it is now, but also those moments when there was low-flying plumes of toxic smoke that we could have inhaled in the early hours of the fire.”
Ms Bennett said she had also spoken to others living in Footscray who were suffering from headaches and respiratory difficulties.
More than 50 schools and child care centres were closed on Thursday due to acrid smoke from the West Footscray blaze.
Authorities expanded warnings over the course of the day as the smoke drifted further across Melbourne’s western suburbs.
But the EPA and MFB stressed that the overall air quality on the ground was not believed to be unsafe, and said residents were not at immediate risk.
Those with chronic health conditions, however, were advised to take extra precautions.
