FOR DARREN Coffey, the timing of his arrival to work on Thursday night could not have been worse.
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His offices at Leading Security were hidden in a hue of black fog, explosions shook the street and the smell of burning chemicals laced the air.
''I couldn't breathe,'' he said.
''There was a really loud hissing sound, like something was building up with pressure, then the crackling of the flames and popping and a muffled explosion inside...
''I had to take short breaths. Every time you tried to breathe deeply it just pinched half way through and really hurt inside.''
Mr Coffey was one of the first on the scene at the burning factory fire and noticed a red station wagon parked in the driveway and a light on in the office.
Wrought with worry, he jumped the fence and ran towards the car to make sure no one was trapped.
He shone his torch on to a large hazardous chemicals sign as yet another explosion rocked the street.
''I could see smoke pouring out under the roller doors. The hissing was really loud, like a gas cylinder was building up pressure and ready to blow,'' he said.
''I yelled at two guys in the street to get the hell out of there and raced over to the office but the doors were locked. As I ran back towards the car there were two more explosions and when I looked back I could see the roller doors had bowed out.''
Mr Coffey spoke to a company manager who had arrived on scene and rang emergency services to update them on the type of chemicals inside before setting up road blocks around the area.
Cold, shaking and feeling ill, he was taken to Calvary Hospital for X-rays, toxicology reports and heart checks but was released about three hours later.
He has also spoken to police and emergency services who have advised him there were no confirmed people on site at the time of the fire.
