Firefighters continue to battle raging toxic Sydney factory inferno
Emergency firefighting operations are continuing at a massive factory fire in Sydney’s south-west as the inferno continues to billow toxic smoke into the surrounding area.
The inferno broke out this morning at the facility on Hoxton Park Road, near Cartwright Avenue, in Prestons.
The factory is reported to contain tens of thousands of litres of flammable and dangerous liquids including ethanol, insecticide, brake fluid, hydraulic oil and LPG.
It’s expected to take well into the afternoon to extinguish the blaze.
When they arrived at the scene this morning, firefighters were confronted with giant fireballs “leaping” into the air as residents were evacuated and roads shut down as toxic smoke covered the area.
A firefighter on scene told Today crews were faced with monster fireballs exploding from the factory.
“On arrival, firefighters were confronted with fireballs leaping 50 metres in the air,” he said.
Local residents were told to leave as more than 150 firefighters worked to contain the raging blaze at its peak.
Residents have reported hearing a number of explosions, with debris flying from the scene.
“I just heard a big explosion,” a resident told Today.
“We had to get up for work and first thing that I saw was flames in the sky and just very terrified at the moment to be honest.”
Firefighters are battling to prevent the toxic chemicals from exploding and filtering into a stream of water, as housing estates border the fire.