Just after 4:20pm on Tuesday 4 February a fire began in the Knox Transfer Station in George St Wantirna South.
A pile of mattresses had caught on fire and spread onto a large area of general waste. Strong gusty winds helped to spread the fire as workers tried to contain the blaze.
Multiple calls were coming in due to a large pillar of smoke clearly visible to traffic using Eastlink.
A grass fire had started next to the State Basketball Centre as a result of the wind which MFB and CFA crews attended to. An Advice message was sent to the community at 4:46pm.
Operations Officer Mark Kennedy gave a situation report of "2 large rubbish pile fires spotting into surrounding grasslands" at 5:45pm.
MFB provided support as well as Dandenong Ladder Platform, Bayswater Breathing Apparatus van, Patterson River Mobile Communications Van, Scoresby Hose Layer and Yellingbo Support along with more than 12 tankers and pumpers.
Worksafe, EPA, Water Company, Police and a Health Monitoring Team attended.
Operations Officer Mark Kennedy gave a "Non-structure fire under control" at 6:45pm with crews working well into the night. A "Fire stop" was placed on the call just before 9:00pm and the last unit didn't leave until some two hours later.
Images by David Tangey District 13 CFA photographer
Author: Keith Pakenham