The fire burning in a Hemmant recycling plant may burn for days, according to Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Incident Control Inspector Corey Dennis.

The fire, which forced traffic diversions and blanketed Brisbane’s southern suburbs in smoke, began yesterday afternoon.

“Due to the fact that the fire collapsed so suddenly, the crews have not been able to make penetration to the fire underneath,” Mr Dennis told Scott Emerson.

“We will be waiting until later today to hopefully get some heavy machinery in there, which will allow us to make progress on the fire.”

Mr Dennis couldn’t say how long it would take crews to extinguish the fires, but it could take ‘a few days’.

“It will just depend entirely upon how effective it is once we get the heavy machinery in here to either lift or remove the roof,” he said.

Air quality testing will be carried out this morning but Mr Dennis said people affected by the smoke should stay inside with fans and air-conditioning turned on.

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Image: Nine News

It’s not every day you get up close and personal with a fire of this magnitude! 🚒🤯 Thanks to Brendan Neinert for sharing his amazing shots of this week’s massive structure fire in Hemmant, Brisbane. Fire and Rescue Service crews continue to work on the smouldering blaze. pic.twitter.com/yKvMpheBJp

— Qld Fire & Emergency (@QldFES) December 18, 2020