 Hi, my name is Greg Christerson, Operations Officer with District 8. This morning at approximately 8 o'clock we were responded to a reported factory fire at a recycling plant in Audish Road in Dandenong. It was fairly evident with the responding crews that the factory was going. We had a large column of black smoke which were emanating and the initial incident controller, Senior Station Officer Brett Sleep making pumpers for and requesting an additional aerial blinds on route. Upon arrival the crews found a factory approximately 50 metres by 50 metres well alight. Smoke emanating from the factory combined with the wind on the day as strong and orderly and the temperature approximately 40 degrees made it very difficult for firefighters to make access and try and control the fire. The temperature of the day has presented a number of issues to our firefighters in addition to the complexities here of the factory. With the high temperatures it was very evident early on that our firefighters would be subjected to extreme heat and given that there was an onus requirement on BAs that we would need to get some welfare support in place for them here on scene. Dandenong have a rehabilitation module which responds with marquees, cooling chairs and a large supply of water and electrolyte hydrate and one of the things we do very early on is establish that unit in the field to make sure that from the very onset of a firefight the primary focus becomes on maintaining the welfare of our people. The firefighter itself, Senior Station Officer Brett Sleep, supported by Senior Station Officer Glenn Probestul, they were able to establish some good foundations to effectively contain this fire to the structure of origin. The structure being approximately 50 by 50, supported by two ladder platforms they were able to contain and limit the exposures that this fire was likely to affect in the subtly direction. The wind here on the day presented some issues for the firefighters. The smoke column was leaning quite heavily towards some immediate factories directly south of the fire and setting up that ladder platform very early on was able to put a good water curtain down and limit the spread of the fire in that subtly direction. All crews on scene need to be commended for the way in which they they tackled this in very much a team effort. They were extremely well led by Senior Station Officer Brett Sleep. He had a quite clear objective which he communicated to all troops on scene right from the onset and all of his people were able to effectively do what he needed to be done and limit the damage here to the factory. One of the most important things that we've tried to get through to our people here today is that hydration is the most crucial aspect. We've said to all of our people here on scene that when they're not actively involved in the firefight to make sure that they're in the rehabilitation area which was set up near our control point and to ensure that they're drinking the right amounts of water and electrolyte and to stay cool in the shade. We've also had ambulance set up here with some welfare monitoring and their primary focus has been to make sure that the firefighters and all other emergency responders on scene have been well looked after. Given that we're in the AM period of this hot day, our firefighters here are going to be lent upon later on in the day to respond to other emergencies and what we do know is that the temperature's only going to get hotter and the winds are going to get stronger so we need to ensure that those people are ready to respond when required this afternoon. All in all this has been a very effective firefight with all agencies working very well together. We've been able to limit the damage to this factory and contain it to the structure of origin. Currently we've got district date fire investigators here trying to determine an actual cause for the fire and once that's established we'll be transferring control over to management for local area management. In relation to the community advice warning that was put out this morning, here at the incident we're experiencing some extremely strong northerly winds causing that smoke column to travel over Eastlink. We linked in very quickly with the Eastlink control centre to make sure that our warnings encapsulated the freeway and to alert all the passing motorists that they needed to display caution. The fire was fairly strong in the initial onset so we were a little bit concerned with some member attack but those very early connections with some of our stakeholders and supporting agencies is crucial to get the message out to make sure everyone remains safe. In relation to health and welfare monitoring of our firefighters on days like today particularly with this structural PPC it's crucial to make sure that when they're not actively involved in the firefight that when they're removed they're sufficiently hydrating, they're using the electrolyte and they're staying cool but even for those who are involved in roles that are far enough away from the incident that they take the jackets off and remain cool. It's all about the welfare of our people and making sure that they're not only fit to suppress this incident but we've also got to look at what the requirements will be further on in the day.