Authorities are warning that it will take them several days to tackle a raging inferno at a Melbourne factory. But commuters seem to have made their peace with the blaze, barely raising an eyebrow as they pass on the train.

The enormous chemical-fueled fire in West Footscray has caused toxic smoke to billow across the Australian city’s suburbs. It’s feared that expected rains could draw the black acrid smoke closer to ground level, creating a possible health risk.

Fire crews have since contained the inferno to one shed at the chemical plant, with footage from the scene showing scores of emergency service personnel working as plumes of smoke rise from the area.

Local residents have taken to social media to post images of the fire, which has dominated parts of the Melbourne skyline and reportedly resulted in intermittent explosions.

Smoke plume appears to extend out to the bay. Photo from Laverton station. #footscray#Fire Reminds me of Coode Island fire many years ago. Hope the firefighters are staying safe. pic.twitter.com/xVlmsKymyE — Bandwidth Bandito (@BBandito) August 29, 2018

Exactly one week ago my office building caught fire (we still can't go back inside) and today #Footscray is burning down. The obvious conclusion is that I am doing this with the power of my mind somehow. pic.twitter.com/F6aSQqen3t — Adam Fleet (@adamfleetmovies) August 29, 2018

Despite this, city residents don’t appear to be panicked, as evidenced by one video filmed on a Melbourne passenger train. It shows commuters appearing more interested in their cell phones than in gawking at massive columns of black smoke rising outside the window.

Melbourne’s acting Chief Fire Officer Guy Leach said the inferno is one of the city's biggest fires in decades. “Many of you will recall some of the fires we’ve had in the past… [including] Coode Island,” he said. “This is certainly one of the biggest fire's we’ve seen in Melbourne for a long time.”

It’s not yet known what caused the fire. A community meeting to discuss the dangers of the fire is expected to be held on Thursday.

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