Emergency services crews attend a fire which broke out yesterday at GrainCorp’s Carrington facility. Image: Newy 87.8 FM Newcastle

FIRE crews remain at the scene after a blaze broke out at GrainCorp’s Carrington facility about 5pm yesterday.

Emergency services responded after several local residents reported smoke coming from the complex which includes grain silos at the Port of Newcastle.

A Fire and Rescue NSW spokesperson said 11 fire trucks and about 40 firefighters were deployed to the site at the height of the incident.

“We found that there was a fire occurring within an extraction system part of the grain-handling area,” the spokesperson said.

He said crews were unable to immediately investigate the source of the smoke because that part of the complex was difficult to access.

“We’ve monitored the conditions overnight using both firefighters and our remote pilot aircraft or drones with thermal imaging capability.”

The spokesperson said the crews have “monitored the temperatures slowly coming down overnight and into the morning”.

Smoke billows out of GrainCorp’s Carrington complex late yesterday afternoon. Photo: David Diehm Photography

He said the fire was contained to one silo, with the extent of any grain damage or loss yet to be determined due to limited access to the site.

“We’ve still got…three fire trucks in attendance at the moment, and we’re continuing to work with on-site staff to resolve the situation and ensure that that fire is properly extinguished.”

He said police continued to restrict access to the site, with roadblocks remaining in place.

A GrainCorp spokesperson confirmed that there were no injuries from the incident and no wider threat to the Newcastle community.

“GrainCorp is working with Fire and Rescue NSW to determine the cause of smoke at its Carrington Terminal in Newcastle yesterday,” the GrainCorp spokesperson said.

“The safety of our people and the community remains our first priority.

“We thank Fire and Rescue NSW and other emergency services for their swift response and are working with authorities to restore operations as soon as it is safe to do so.”

In September 2022, a fire at the same site is believed to have started in a dust-extraction system; no-one was injured in the fire, and no grain stock was affected.

Grain Central: Get our free news straight to your inbox – Click here