A worker who had been inside a waste management factory in Melbourne that erupted into a blazing inferno had a chemical drum explode in his face in the incident.
Vigneshwaran Vasantharajan had been working to remove dangerous waste from the Campbellfield factory yesterday when the fire was first sparked.
One of Mr Vasantharajan's friends, who had finished his own shift at the factory just before the fire started, told 9News the man had to be rushed to hospital with severe burns by a truck driver.
"(They were) on his left side, from his ears and cheek and everywhere got injured," Vasantharaj Vasanthakumar said.
The factory fire is tonight continuing to burn amid revelations its owner is linked to four other warehouses stocked with toxic waste.
Crews are working this weekend to manage the fire, which started about 6.40am yesterday and sent a toxic black plume over Melbourne.
It was brought under control by midday yesterday but is expected to burn for days with two workers hospitalised, one of whom remains in an induced coma.
It comes as The Age reported that Bradbury Industrial Services controls illicit stockpiles of chemicals found at four other warehouses in March.
The news has sparked fears more fires could erupt.
The Campbellfield factory had been storing almost three times the quantity of chemical permitted, the EPA found.
Operators of the Campbellfield business had their licence suspended by the Environmental Protection Agency in March.
The company had been repeatedly found storing excess highly-flammable material.
The factory is allowed to hold a maximum 150,000 litres of waste material, including solvents, inks, paints and other flammable materials, before being processed.
Mr Vasantharajan's friends have since said he told them he didn't feel safe working at the factory, revealing there had been other smaller fires in the past.
"They know that it's not safe to work there, but all the other jobs they got are far from this place," Mr Vasanthakumar said.
Witnesses reported a number of explosions as the inferno spewed large volumes of black smoke.
Nearby businesses were forced to evacuate.
It took 175 firefighters to bring this blaze under control and 11 schools in this local area were shut down.
No students were attending school in this area yesterday and thick black toxic smoke blanketed most of the city.
Merlynston creek has been contaminated by run-off.
Victorian Coroner Darren Bracken attended the site on Friday and will investigate the cause of the blaze.
Premier Daniel Andrews said there were no suspicious circumstances.
Meanwhile, Mr Vasantharajan remains in a stable condition in hospital after regaining consciousness overnight and briefly speaking with friends this morning.
His recovery is expected to take some time.