More than a hundred firefighters from across the New South Wales state capital in Australia worked to contain a massive fire that engulfed a factory that contained tens of thousands of litres of flammable solvents in a car parts factory in Sydney’s south-west. The blaze, which was in an industrial zone in Revesby, caused the factory to collapse onto itself. However, despite the challenges, firefighters were able to reduce the spread of fire to neighbouring buildings and factory units.

Firefighters tackling the blaze faced huge columns of black smoke, explosions that sent huge balls of fire into the sky and a fast-moving fire. Water supply problems are believed to have hampered firefighters’ efforts.  More than 100 people were evacuated and two or three people were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation.

A large exclusion zone was put in place and Hazmat crews monitored the smoke. The cause of the fire is being investigated but local reports suggest that there is no reason to believe it was malicious.