SMOKE covered Cheltenham and Moorabbin last week after a massive factory fire. The factory on Chesterville Road in Cheltenham went up in flames at around 8.30am on Thursday, 30 January. Investigators believe that lithium-ion batteries caught fire, which sparked the huge blaze.
While firefighters fought the fire, they issued community advice warnings to residents in Cheltenham, Highett, Moorabbin, and Moorabbin East. Just after 2.30pm on Thursday they declared the fire under control. Chesterville Road and Keys Road were closed to all traffic while the fire was raging. They were reopened shortly after the blaze was declared under control.
In a statement, Fire Rescue Victoria said “the fire has involved two adjoining factories of the same business, about 70m x 80m with significant fire, flames, smoke, and damage to the walls and roof. “Around 25 fire trucks – including two ladder platforms and a teleboom – along with 70 firefighters, responded to the incident at its peak. It took FRV and CFA crews about two and a half hours to contain the fire, and as of 11.30am it was not yet deemed under control. There were some initial limitations with access to the buildings where the fire was located, due to an inaccessible laneway and concerns of a partial structural collapse.
“Emergency services are working together to collect aerial footage to enable a full assessment of the incident. Early indications are the factories contained various items including solar panels and lithium-ion batteries. Occupants of the business had already evacuated, and neighbouring premises were also evacuated as a precaution.”
Ambulance Victoria, Victoria Police, and the SES were among the attendees. FRV incident controller assistant chief fire officer Barry Gray said “a fantastic effort was made by firefighters to contain the fire to the buildings of origin.”
First published in the Frankston Times – 4 February 2025