A power outage has resulted in flaring at the Altona Mobil refinery on Friday morning, but the MFB has moved to calm people’s fears of fire.
MFB spokeswoman Belle Nolan said reports of fires caused by lighting strikes in Altona North this morning were incorrect.
“MFB received a number of calls to fires in the Altona North area,” she said.
“Fire trucks were dispatched to a number of locations but it was determined that there was a power outage in the area and the Mobil refinery was flaring off as part of their standard safety procedures.”
Mobil spokesman Travis Parnaby said about 11.40am, the Altona refinery temporarily increased flaring following an interruption to the external power supply.
“This posed no danger to the community or the environment,” he said.
“Mobil is working to restore the refinery to normal operations as quickly and safely as possible.
“We apologise for any inconvenience or concern this may cause our neighbours.”
