A 600m exclusion zone has been set up around a Narrabri silo after a fire was reported at around 11am this morning. Photo: Narrabri Courier
Emergency services have lifted an exclusion zone around a Narrabri silo and confirmed that the threat of fire at the facility is over.
A 600 metre exclusion zone was set up around the site of the Graincorp facility on the Newell Highway this morning as a safety precaution.
300 school children from Narrabri West Public School were evacuated safely to Gately Field, located between Cooma Road and Wakawa Street.
Parents were advised to pick their children up from the oval and not to attend the school which was closed for the rest of the day.
Police closed the railway line that runs alongside the silos to give firefighters access to the blaze which was reported at 10.45am.
NSW Fire and Rescue units from Moree, Narrabri and Gunnedah used thermal imaging cameras to locate heat sources inside the facility, but found that smoke from a conveyor belt was the cause of the emergency.
The exclusion zone was lifted at 2.15pm.
Tamworth RFS Community Safety Officer Peter Roffe said that silo fires were particularly hazardous as the design of the facilities made access difficult for firefighters and materials stored were highly flammable.
"Grain and organic materials generate large amounts of dust which could be ignition sources," Officer Roffe said.
"There is a significant risk of explosion with these types of fires."
