The Hazelwood Mine Fire
The 9th February 2014 was the day that The Hazelwood mine caught fire.
It was during a period of extreme fire danger that a bushfire started nearby and sent embers into the open cut coal mine.
The fire burnt out of control for 45 days and it took another 72 days for the fire to be put out.
The impact on the community and on the workers who helped to fight the fire was horrific.
The fire was a large scale environmental and health disaster, with ongoing ramifications for those in the vicinity. It would later become the subject of an inquiry, multiple prosecutions and has been the subject of two books by Tom Doig which make very interesting reading.
From an OHS perspective, this event makes an interesting case study. The fire was preventable, and the safety failures resulted in workers being exposed to hazardous conditions, with long term effects. Firefighters and mine personnel faced extreme occupational hazards while responding to the event. These included toxic smoke inhalation, fatigue from prolonged shifts, extreme heat exposure and direct contact with burning coal and ash. Also impacted were volunteers and emergency personnel, as well as members of the public. Inadequate PPE, lack of training and inadequate water infrastructure all added to the hazardous conditions. The physical and psychological impacts continue to this day.
It was found that there had been systemic failures in Occupational Health and Safety at the site. The mine operator (Hazelwood Power company, co-owned by Engie and Mitsui & Co) was found to have failed to:
- Adequately assess the risk of fire in the mine, as a result of external sources such as bushfires
- Adequately maintain vegetation buffers
- Have sufficient firefighting water infrastructure
- Have sufficient and adequately skilled staff on site to respond to fire
- Have an updated fire mitigation plan and to activate it during periods of extreme fire danger
In the words of Colin Radford, WorkSafe CEO: "This was an entirely foreseeable event that has led to significant adverse health impacts”
The adverse health impacts were felt by workers and by the broader community. The massive smoke plumes which blanketed Morwell and the Latrobe valley for a prolonged period resulted in many suffering acute and chronic health effects.
The Hazelwood mine fire exposed issues with crisis management, safety and health governance and emergency response.
The operator of the mine, Hazlewood Power Corporation Pty Ltd was eventually prosecuted by WorkSafe and found guilty and fined. The penalty was $1.56 million for breaching sections 21 and 23 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Hazelwood Pacific Pty Ltd, Australian Power Partners B.V, Hazelwood Churchill Pty Ltd and National Power Australia were found guilty of breaching the Environment Protection Act. They each were fined $95,000 for offences relating to pollution, totalling $380,000.
There continues to be ongoing environmental concerns regarding the remaining mine pit. The owner of the mine, French owned company Engie, is required to rehabilitate the site of the now closed open-cut pit. The process for determining the appropriate 'rehabilitation' is still ongoing, with concerns regarding the use of the Latrobe River water for this purpose, the instability of the pit and potential toxicity of the water. The hazards associated with this mine continue to cause concern.
For those interested in finding out more about the Hazelwood Mine disaster, Tom Doig’s books are highly recommended reading:
Hazelwood by Tom Doig - Penguin Books Australia
The Coal Face: Penguin Special by Tom Doig - Penguin Books Australia
For more information relating to the ongoing Hazelwood concerns, take a look at:
Hazelwood Mine Rehabilitation – Update 2025
Hazelwood Rehabilitation Project
