By Samantha Walker
An electrical fault in a tractor is believed to have started the large fire at a tyre dump in Broadmeadows that blanketed the area in black smoke.
The fire last week incinerated about 150,000 tyres, which was about 80 per cent of tyres at the site’s 100-metre long, 30-metre wide and four-metre tall tyre dump on Maygar Boulevard.
Firefighters gave the all-clear after extinguishing the fire last Thursday and handed the Tyre Crumb tyre dump back to its owners.
The blaze started just before 9am on January 11, sending up plumes of black smoke, which could be seen as far away as Mornington, 80 kilometres distant.
At the fire’s peak, firefighters were pouring 10,000 litres of water and fire retardant a minute onto it and using water-bombing helicopters usually reserved for fighting bushfires.
A lake in nearby Jack Roper Reserve remains closed due to run-off from the fire-fighting efforts. Melbourne Water has warned residents to avoid all contact with the water and at this stage it’s unclear how long the lake may remain unsafe.
Smoke from the fire was considered to be toxic. The Environment Protection Authority monitored air quality in the area but is yet to release the results.
The Department of Health and Human Services has released a fact sheet related to the fire that states, “a single exposure to tyre smoke is not likely to cause long-term [health] effects”.
