PASSERS-BY spotted a chemical fire at a private property across the road from the Cootamundra Showgrounds on Tuesday at 4.45pm.
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A small pallet carrying the chemical zinc chloride self-combusted in the heat of the afternoon resulting in a small blaze and causing a chemical reaction which emitted a gas.
Cootamundra fire brigade set up a 200-metre exclusion zone around the Berthong Street property and as a precaution five houses were evacuated in Berthong, Wills and McConaghy streets with a total of 11 people leaving their homes.
Police, ambulance and fire crew attended the scene converging on the corner of Berthong and Wills Streets while firefighters investigated the blaze to determine the nature of the chemical.
“There were two different products, a pool salt and zinc chloride, and, zinc chloride was giving us the most grief,” brigade captain Les Carr said.
Hazmat teams arrived at around 5.45pm and emergency service personnel held a conference on the street before firefighters isolated the pallet by placing it in a 200-litre Hazmat bin.
Council workers blocked the street from either end while the chemicals were secured.
At around 8.30pm the fire was contained, the site declared safe and the area reopened to the public
The chemicals will be removed by a specialist HAZMAT disposal company.
The property, once used for the purpose of preparing animal skins, had been sold six months prior and was not in use, so it is fortunate the fire was seen, and authorities were alerted in time.
As temperatures rise over the summer months Mr Carr is urging residents to be vigilant and, “if you see smoke, call ‘000.’”