The fire that destroyed Bomaderry's Cottee Jersey powdered milk factory might have started in a pile of pallets outside the building, before being fanned by strong winds.
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Police and fire investigators were today (Tuesday, July 11) looking into the cause of yesterday's fire.
While early indications suggested the fire started in a pile of pallets outside the building, Inspector Rick Jones from Fire and Rescue NSW said that "needs to be further investigated".
However he said the 12-15 staff members on site when the fire started about 1.30pm used hose reels in an attempt to extinguish the fire as soon as it started.
"There was an attempt by staff to extinguish the fire, however yesterday was an extremely windy day and that pushed the fire inside the building, and once it got inside the building there was really nothing they could do," Inspector Jones said.
Staff called Fire and Rescue, and by the time the first fire fighting units arrived, "The fire was well and truly advanced - we had flames 30 to 40 metres into the air, large columns of black smoke," Inspector Jones said.
"It was a fierce fire, with lots of explosions."
The fire's ferocity ignited a grass fire at the rear of the building, which was extinguished by three Rural Fire Service brigades.
There were also 18 Fire and Rescue appliances from as far away as the Illawarra and Moruya on site working to extinguish the flames at the height of the fire.
Inspector Jones said three Fire and Rescue units were remaining on site today in an effort to fully extinguish the fire.
Powdered milk was "highly flammable when it gets hot enough," Inspector Jones said, and with pallets loaded with powdered milk continuing to burn today, he said it would be "some time" before the fire could be fully extinguished.
That was also proving problematic because the building had collapsed in on itself, he said, which was also hampering investigations.
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Inspector Jones said the fire fighters "did a really good job" protecting some residential units on a neighboring block, as they were under threat from radiant heat.
He said the fire was "extremely intense", with explosions along one side where gas cylinders and a forklift had been stored.
That meant fire fighters had to attack the blaze from behind protective barriers where possible, and maintain safe distances.
The factory had been owned by Cottee Jersey for about five years after it was bought from Hanlon Windows, which previously owned it for about 15 years.
"It was a damn good factory," said Chance Hanlon from Hanlon Windows.
"It was a sad day to see that burn down."
