Business as usual following fire

Customers have resumed collecting fertiliser from the 14ha site; the fire affected the eastern end.

Ravensdown chief executive Greg Campbell says product quality has not suffered, ‘although in the initial restart of service customers could expect some congestion on the site”.

The fire appears to have started during maintenance work and spread along the roof line when a rubber conveyor belt ignited. 

“The rubber belt helped spread the fire through the roofs of the four store buildings and caused the black smoke seen across the city,” says Campbell. 

“The buildings affected were of new fibreglass construction and did not contain asbestos. The cladding responded as it should, allowing emergency services to put the fire out quickly and safely from outside the building.”

The fire only affected building materials and conveyor structures. Ravensdown does not store explosive materials in any of their manufacturing plants. The two small bangs heard were likely exploding gas bottles used during the maintenance work.