Harper Sercombe
Four years on from the notorious Campbellfield industrial fire at Bradbury Industrial Services, the County Court heard details surrounding the incident.
It took almost 200 firefighters four days to extinguish the April 2019 blaze at Bradbury, a chemical recycling operator.
Thick black smoke from the fire blanketed the northern suburbs and resulted in the closure of schools and roads in the surrounding area.
A worker was injured in the fire.
On Wednesday, June 14, Bradbury Industrial Services pleaded guilty to six charges relating to the fire and the stockpiling of millions of litres of dangerous goods at five of its sites throughout Craigieburn and Campbellfield.
The court heard that the fire was “miniscule compared to what could have happened,” with the Thornycroft Street warehouse housing more than 136,000 litres of dangerous goods, compared to the nine million litres stored across the Yellowbox Drive, Craigieburn, warehouses.
CCTV footage made available by the court shows the fire igniting when an employee attempted to decant a chemical, creating what is believed to be an ectro-static discharge event.
The footage shows the worker catching alight and running away from the explosion. He spent three days in hospital after sustaining burns to the face and throat.
Bradbury pleaded guilty to one charge of failing to provide a safe work environment for their employees by failing to provide information, instruction, training or supervision and five charges of failing to take all reasonable precautions for the prevention of any fire or explosion involving dangerous goods.
As reported by Star Weekly, Bradbury’s Thornycroft Street plant has been under investigation by the Environment Protection Authority in the weeks before the fire for storing more waste than permitted under its licence.
Judge Peter Rozen will hand down a sentence against Bradbury Industrial Services on June 23.
