Businesses in Melbourne’s south-east have been evacuated because a battery fire sent black smoke billowing across the city. While the blaze is now under control. It's fuelled a dispute between the union and the Victorian government over the age of the state's fire trucks.
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00:00A Cheltenham warehouse engulfed in flames, firefighters battled to extinguish the massive
00:07blaze from the ground and from above, as thick black smoke was sent billowing over Melbourne
00:13South East, forcing neighbouring businesses to evacuate.
00:17It looked like a bomb was going off basically, it was pretty intense.
00:21My heart dropped, yeah, my heart dropped.
00:23I was, I hugged my wife and I was like, this is it.
00:29The fire started at a warehouse storing solar panels and 3,000 lithium-ion batteries, before
00:35quickly spreading to the businesses' two adjoining factories.
00:39It was a really significant fire, really quickly.
00:42Flames through the roofs, roofs collapsed, collapsing, damage to walls.
00:46Batteries exploding, like gunshots.
00:49Within minutes, fire trucks were on the scene, managing to contain the blaze before it spread
00:54to other properties.
00:55What I saw on my cameras is insane, and I just want to thank them all.
00:59But fuelled by the batteries, it would take more than six hours to bring the blaze under
01:04control, with fire authorities expected to remain at the scene overnight.
01:09They continue to generate heat, they continue to burn, they will impact the buildings around
01:13them.
01:14At its height, 25 fire trucks were brought in to attack the fire.
01:18Now it's reigniting a fight between the union and state government over ageing equipment,
01:23after the pumps on two of the fire trucks failed.
01:27Firefighters are confronted with an unnecessary risk.
01:30Their equipment is unreliable, it needs to be replaced.
01:33We had 25 fire trucks here, more than the resources that we needed, and so the impact
01:38negligible, if anything at all.
01:41Behind me is one of two fire trucks the union says failed today, after a bearing inside
01:46the pumper exploded.
01:47Now this truck is 19 years old, and the union says there are 30 more like it across the
01:52state which are out of date.
01:54While the warehouse is reduced to ashes, surrounding businesses will remain closed until it's deemed safe.