21/08/2026
On This Day (Late edition)
On This Day
August 21st
Coode Island
Information from Firecall issue #348: Special Edition 2020
Location: The junction of the Yarra and Maribyrnong Rivers of Melbourne.
Date: 21st August 1991
Day 1 – Alarm raised approx. 14:15pm escalated to fifth alarm by 14:23
Incident type: initially reported as shipping container fire – actually a 600,000-litre chemical storage tank alight.
Day 2 – 11:45am A ruptured pipeline caused a secondary explosion in another storage tank, which spread to another four tanks.
In total 16 chemical storage tanks were significantly damaged or destroyed, with approximately 10 million litres of chemicals burnt or leaked into the area.
This fire reached a 9th alarm response and is one of the biggest fires or chemical incidents in MFB’s 129-year history. At its height, more than 50 per cent of the Brigades’ crewed appliances were at the site.
A retrospective from those there or helping afterwards.
This has been put together from the memories provided to me by Tom Reynolds, Ian Munro, Tom Gardiner, and Paul Scott.
Day 1 Day Shift: - Tom Reynolds
Received the call for a container fire, coming around the back of the remand centre, we could see it was more than that. We knew there would be good water there, having been to previous jobs in the area.
Upon arrival, the threats to crew were assessed, exposures were checked, and lines set up. The ring main was taken out when a tank exploded and landed on it, taking out the water.
We moved to cover the North face as the west face was covered by Pumper 47. There was a ship in dock on the east flank that was evacuated as the wind was coming from the West. Number 1 arrived and was sent to the Southern flank as the rest were covered.
A word back for further assistance but the shift Superintendent had already escalated it from the top of the Westgate at the time we turned out.
We got it under control even with the problems with products, lack of foam supplies and bund walls filling up.
Day 1 Day Shift: Paul Scott
I didn’t attend however helped to organise busses to transport crews to and from, however most stations ended up organising this themselves.
One potential plan to fight the fire I was involved in was to possibly drop concrete on the fire, so I was ringing helicopter companies to see what lift capacity they had. They couldn’t believe I didn’t care about the price.
One thing I distinctly remember is that Keith Adamson did a great job staying calm and in control when delegating responsibilities to us.
Day 1 Night Shift: - Ian Munro
At home, the 3pm news and subsequent news breaks mentioned fire but didn’t think much of it due to regular calls in that area.
The “oh sh*t” moment came when the train got to Spotswood, and I could see it. Knew it was going to be a long night. Got off train and headed to Number 2. Shortly after arriving, a truck from out East turned up on a second move up, having been at 35 beforehand. The crew had enough “Central Time” to know their way around.
Once the No 2 crew were assembled, the instructions were to eat quick and wait for transport. District car arrived around 18:45, 4 crew members got in and headed down.
Upon arrival, we checked in at command, found our pumper and the day shift officer. Did a quick briefing and trip up onto a bund for a visual. At that stage, our MK III’s ground monitor and another hand were holding lines to try to cool tanks nearby to a burning one. Crews changed over; Day Shift went home.
Through the night it was keep the truck running, watch for crew safety. There were trip hazards everywhere, especially from debris. Most of the night crews were rotated from road to monitors and hand-held branches. Little relief during rotations as there was limited cover and seating was the ground or cabs of pumpers. Once the Salvo’s arrived the routing eventually settled to come off hose, go to Salvos for a drink and snack, come back to truck/sector.
Water was a continual problem as with all the water being drawn the mains were low. The onsite heavy pumps were shut down due to ruptures from damage earlier in the day. Main problem was losing water due to a burst hose first meant finding the rupture, then the source of the feed, which could be another pumper, a hydrant in Footscray Rd, or the shipping company towards Swanston Docks. Once you found all this, you then had to find hose to swap it with, as most trucks had been stripped.
The late-night change to foam brought its own problems. The original tank quotas having been used earlier in the day meant resupply from 44-gallon drums. The pumps couldn’t make useable foam because the inflow couldn’t drive the mixers, so the “old farts” had a conference and went manual, which meant teaching the “young blokes” how. This also blocked the injectors which needed flushing or getting mechanics to strip and clean them.
At shift change over there was a rush to get everyone home by 10am so there was an 8-hr break between shifts.
Day 2 Day Shift: - Tom Reynolds
Upon arrival for Fire Duty, I climbed a ladder to speak to the Superintendent. He told me to speak to a news crew regarding Day 1. We went up onto a bund wall and I was showing them what we had been doing when the fire re-ignited. I told them to get out of there.
We were back at it.
Supplemental (Because I’m not sure where this fitted in the timeline)
Tom Reynolds – The bunds were filling up, so we pumped the mixture of water and chemicals into a ship which was sent to Point Wilson for dumping.
The SSO from No 1 said he learned fluent Scottish from my frequent word backs!
It was good to see the courier vehicles line up to drop drums of foam. With good communications and well managed directions, we got on top of it.
The fire contained many chemicals, ongoing affects still to be seen, everyone in attendance was recorded, whether Fire Fighter, Officer, or Support Staff. My report, once completed, looked like a book.
Ian Munro – Further foam supplies arrived via convoy on Day 4.
Notes from Tom Gardiner:
I wasn’t a member of the Brigade at the time of Coode Island, I joined a few years later. At the time I could see the smoke billowing out and over the surrounding suburbs from the 12th floor window of the former State Insurance Office. In 1993 I joined the MFB as Work Cover Claims Coordinator.
A short time into my service I found a box bulging with claims from the Fire Fighters who attended the fire. We moved around the office a few times over my time, and I don’t remember seeing the box in later years, likely due to it having been archived.
My main thought is that it would be a “sleeping giant” for Workers Compensation with various long-term issues arising, both physical and mental.
If you know of other events in Fire Services History, or have a story to tell, please share so we can update/add to our records
