MFB chief officer Dan Stephens said it would take days to put the fire out, but about 10am he confirmed that it had been contained. "This is likely to be a protracted incident that will be ongoing for a number of days," Mr Stephens said. "Our firefighters have managed to contain the fire to the plant and premises. Firefighters on the scene in Campbellfield. Credit:Paul Jeffers "There will be some heat and smoke damage to the surrounding premises, but as it stands we have managed to contain the fire."

He advised people living nearby to take shelter indoors. "Let me be clear, all smoke is toxic. We have issued a number of community warnings," Mr Stephens said. Residents in Broadmeadows, Pascoe Vale and Coburg have been advised to take shelter indoors immediately and seven nearby schools have closed. All roads around the factory have been closed. Fire authorities say residents should close vents, turn off heating and cooling systems and bring pets indoors.

One witness, a welder who was working in the factory next door on Friday morning when the blaze started, reported seeing a fireball about 40-storeys high after he and fellow workers made a quick escape. "About 6.50am we heard someone yelling, 'get out'. Then we saw the roof [next door] on fire. There were a large stack of barrels, probably eight barrels stacked next to the fence," said Alexander Powell, 28. "Then I saw a fireball about 40 storeys high ... I saw a barrel flying in the air, it took off like a rocket," he said. "I could feel the radiant heat bearing down on me." Welder Alexander Powell, who was working next door to the toxic waste factory on Friday morning, saw a fireball about 40 storeys high. Credit:Paul Jeffers Firefighters are using more than 30 trucks and water bombers to fight the blaze.

Mr Powell said he was concerned the fire could be heading towards another factory nearby that contains a large gas tank. "I had a firefighter telling me it's out of control; it's moving towards another factory which has a 20,000 litre tank of LPG." About 30 people are believed to have evacuated the factory before firefighters arrived and one man was taken by ambulance to the Royal Eye and Ear Hospital with an eye injury. The factory at the centre of fire is listed to Bradbury Industrial Services, which had its licence suspended by the Environment Protection Authority about two weeks ago. Bradbury's website says the company are experts in the disposal of industrial waste and hazardous waste.

Aerial shots of smoke plumes from the Campbellfield fire. Credit:Nine News Details are starting to emerge about the state of the Campbellfield chemical waste disposal facility when it was inspected by a taskforce comprising the EPA and emergency services in early March. Sources say the surprise inspection on March 13 found leaking containers and spilled chemicals on the factory floor. The breaches have been described as "extremely alarming" given that employees were onsite and working near the contamination. The EPA issued a "show cause" notice to Bradbury about its permit breaches and then suspended its licence when Bradbury failed to meet its demands. “The community has a right to expect that the management of hazardous and industrial waste is done to a high standard that meets regulations. This was not the case with Bradbury and is why EPA has taken this important decision," EPA chief executive Dr Cathy Wilkinson said in a statement at the time.

The EPA found the company was storing more waste than permitted, and that storage containers were not adequately handled and were outside an adequately contained area. Another aerial shot of the blaze. Credit:Nine News Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews on Friday said he was prepared to tighten chemical storage laws. “If there is improvement that can come from the experience of this fire of course we stand ready, in partnership with our emergency services, to make whatever changes we need to make,” he said. “But this is not a suspicious fire.” Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said the EPA had been handed stronger powers to prevent toxic disasters, which would kick in next year.

Ms D’Ambrosio said emergency services agencies had acted quickly to contain the fire to the site and bring it under control. “There’s been a really good collaborative approach right across agencies and they’ll continue to work together.” The fire comes as authorities investigate a massive illicit toxic dumping operation across Melbourne's northern suburbs, where up to 19 million litres of waste has been stockpiled. Firefighters at the factory in Thornycroft Road, Campbellfield. Credit:Paul Jeffers Eight warehouses were discovered in Epping and Campbellfield on December 28, before WorkSafe and Environment Protection Authority investigators uncovered another three in Campbellfield in early March, and another warehouse in Campbellfield about two weeks ago.

Authorities have been on high alert since last August when a West Footscray factory, stockpiled with toxic waste, went up in flames and burned for three days. At least 15 fire trucks from the MFB are attending the Campbellfield fire, as well as 10 CFA trucks. Factory worker Pip earlier told 3AW he was watching the fire from a nearby street. "I'm at my factory and ... in the next street there is a massive factory fire, I'm standing here watching it and there are still explosions happening. Flames 30 metres in the air, fireys coming from everywhere," he said.

"The intensity of the fire is enormous, smoke going everywhere. "I don't know what's in that factory but there are a lot of explosions," he said. The MFB says people travelling in or around the area can expect to see flames and black smoke, and traffic may also be affected. Motorists travelling through the area have been advised to keep their windows closed, or avoid the area if possible.

The MFB's Mr Stephens said the fire had grown very quickly by the time firefighters arrived.

"The incident escalated to an eighth alarm, that's over 40 appliances and 100 firefighters. Thirty workers at the premise were evacuated and MFB firefighters conducted an aggressive and assertive attack to surround the incident, to prevent the spread to the surrounding properties. He said they were still establishing the cause and origin of the fire. "My understanding is that evacuation was taken place at the time of the first arriving MFB appliances on scene." Mr Stephens would not say what material was inside the factory. "The inventory of the factory at this point I cannot comment on definitively but what we do know that there were numerous hazardous materials contained in the factory including flammable liquids."

Mr Stephens said firefighters had not entered the building as it is made of tilt slabs, which can collapse suddently. "We are not going to risk the life of firefighters... by putting them into the building where there is a possibility of structural collapse," he said. "This incident is likely to last for a number of days while we get in, make the building safe and then fully extinguish the fire," he said. Plumes of smoke from a factory fire in Campbellfield on the approach to Melbourne early on Friday. Credit:Paul Jeffers EPA staff are at the blaze and assisting with air monitoring in the area.

The education department says these schools are closed because of the fire: Dallas North Primary School

Broadmeadows Primary School

Hume Central Secondary College Dimboola Road Campus

Home Central Secondary College English Language Campus

Meadow Heights Primary School

Holy Child Catholic Primary School Dallas

St Thomas More Primary School

Corpus Christi School, Glenroy Corpus Christi principal Stephen Lucardie said smoke was hovering around the school, with "almost an orange fog", earlier in the morning. "We made a call for the best interests of the children and staff," Mr Lucardie told The Age. Holy Child Primary School principal Alan Smith said thick plumes of smoke were hovering over the Dallas school, and students had been told to start their school holidays a day early.