BROADFORD and Tallarook residents were asked to remain calm and respect authority instructions as a burning waste fire continues to burn at Davis Road.
The fire is expected to burn for at least the next two weeks, following advice from meetings tabled by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), Country Fire Association (CFA) District 12 and Mitchell Shire Council (MSC).
It also comes at a time where MSC has pleaded for support from the Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) to improve rubbish removal around the Shire’s arterial roads and reserves.
The EPA put out a statement on Wednesday afternoon.
“The fire at a property on Davis Rd, Broadford, involves mostly construction and demolition waste, and currently presents a low risk to the rest of the community, equivalent to the effects of smoke from a house fire or bush fire,” they said.
“CFA is managing the emergency response, and EPA Victoria does not anticipate any ongoing risks to the public once the fire has been extinguished.
“The EPA investigation of the circumstances of the fire and the waste stockpile on the property is ongoing.”
MSC followed with a statement of its own, confirming that cleanup notices were issued by the EPA earlier this year.
“Earlier this year, EPA inspections confirmed unlawful stockpiles of thousands of tonnes of construction and demolition waste at the site. Cleanup notices were issued. The size and nature of the waste means suppression and site management will take time,” they said.
“Council will continue to work with the EPA, CFA and other agencies and provide updates as information becomes available.”
One person. who declined to be named, said more needed to be done.
“The resources weren’t sufficient to deal with it, and only one truck was allowed in with a police escort,” they said.
“One police unit turned up, and we weren’t allowed to proceed beyond Lemarne Road until a police escort arrived. When they arrived, they were going to go in and then didn’t, they wanted to wait for backup.
“One truck went in and made an assessment and viewed the pile and then left.
“I remember the illegal rubbish dump off Sydney Road when they had the hoses run across there for a couple of weeks, yet this one, apparently, is fine, and it’s all been dumped across all hours of the day and night.
“The EPA can’t extinguish the fire as it’s not their role, which is understandable, but to say the water runoff won’t end up in Dabyminga Creek is a joke because of the terrain.”
CFA District 12 Assistant Chief Fire Officer Stephen Keating said the decision to leave the fire burning was a decision that was made due to the difficulty in accessing the location safely, with rain hampering their efforts.
“Our biggest challenge in extinguishing this fire includes very limited access to water, we will need to truck large amounts of water in from a distance,” he said.
“The topography of the site also limits our ability to move vehicles and equipment around it.
“The current weather (rain) is preventing safe access for our CFA trucks and our firefighters moving around the site.”
Mr Keating said the continued focus will be on reducing the risk to nearby residents as the fire burns, with a focus on the upcoming summer months.
“CFA, EPA and council have been meeting regularly as an Emergency Incident Management Team to ensure that the approach taken to extinguish this fire is the one with the safest possible outcomes for the community and our firefighters. There were several courses of action that were looked at and the EPA scientific team have supported our proposal to allow this fire to continue to burn in the current weather conditions,” he said.
“This is due to the safety of accessing the fire, transport water to the fire, people working in steep terrain and importantly a reduced risk of the fire smoke effecting the local community due to the increased winds.
“CFA are very focused on the protection of this local community and will be monitoring the weather and fire until we have a good opportunity to undertake a process of extinguishment.
“It is very important to us that this fire is extinguished without possibility of re-ignition as we move into the summer period.
“After this fire has been extinguished, CFA will continue to monitor it for reignitions well into the summer period if the material is still there.”
Mr Keating confirmed the cause of the fire has not been determined yet, although there are possible causes already excluded.
“The cause of the waste pile igniting has not and can’t be determined due to the material type and that was all burning on CFA arrival,” he said.
“It was likely to have been burning for a considerable time before CFA arrived on site on Sunday. There are some possible causes we are able to exclude.”
The EPA confirmed earlier this year the property was subject to inspections, which confirmed unlawful stockpiles of thousands of tonnes of construction and demolition waste at the site.
The EPA also confirmed they have met regularly with MSC in recent weeks as Council continues to seek solutions for the rubbish dumping problems they are experiencing.
“Officers from EPA Victoria and Mitchell Shire Council have regular strategic discussions that include the issue of illegal waste dumping and have met in recent weeks,” they said.
“As with other councils, we share intelligence and work in cooperation on individual cases and planning for investigation and enforcement activities.
“EPA officers routinely respond to reports from the Council when an investigation calls for EPA’s specific powers and technical resources.”
