A fire that broke out at a pharmaceutical plant in the state’s north this morning has been contained and ruled accidental, the Tasmania Fire Service says.
Crews responded to reports of a fire at the Extractas Bioscience manufacturing facility on Birralee Road at Westbury, west of Launceston, around 7:50am on Wednesday.
Volunteer brigades from Cressy, Westbury and Deloraine were called to the blaze, with two further crews from Launceston providing support.
“On arrival crews were confronted with a large amount of thick black smoke in the area,” the fire service said.
The blaze was contained to a hopper and fire investigators later determined the cause was accidental.
Because the fire remained contained, the fire service said there was no smoke risk to the community.
Extractas Bioscience, formerly known as Tasmanian Alkaloids, is Tasmania’s largest opium poppy processing company.
The plant has operated at Westbury since 1975 and is known to locals as the poppy factory.
It produces botanical extracts and purified products, including medicinal opiates drawn from patented poppy varieties grown across the state.
The company supplies a large share of the world’s licit opiate material and employs between 51 and 200 staff at the site.
