Homes in North Canberra shook and windows rattled with some residents thinking Canberra was being bombed.
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The Mitchell chemical fire lit up the adjoining suburb Franklin with flames leaping hundreds of metres in the air. A column of smoke from the blaze at Energy Services Invironmental, a chemical factory, was billowing toxic fumes up more than 800m in the air.
Authorities evacuated Mitchell and nearby Exhibition Park, where about 100 people were camping as part of a horse show planned for today.
Get The Canberra Times tomorrow for even more information about the Mitchell fire, including details of how the city dealt with the blaze, personal stories of those affected and what happens next, along with plenty of extra photos
Dennis Gee, who works at Capital Pinball along Vicars Street in the centre of the Mitchell industrial area, was playing video games when he felt strange vibrations rattling the store's glass.
He walked out on to Vicars Street after hearing explosions to discover a raging blaze engulfing the factory less than 1km away.
"You can definitely see the blaze, you knew it was intense," Mr Gee said.
"It was like a sun but a lot bloody closer," he said.
"It was probably 750m to 800m down the hill ... it definitely wasn't an ice cool Mitchell."
Mr Gee was told to "get out" by police and fled to the Dickson College evacuation centre soon after.
Also fleeing to Dickson College were Michael and Joan Hindle from Adelaide. The self-described "grey nomads" were traveling through Canberra, and were staying in a caravan at Exhibition Park.
"I heard the explosion and I thought it was the army playing silly buggers," Mr Hindle said.
"And then I thought, no this is the middle of Canberra," he said.
"Then [the cops] just rocked up to the caravan and said 'time to go'."
They had initially evacuated to Canberra Stadium, but were later re-directed to Dickson College, where they were settling in for a long wait early this morning.
Earlier, police began patrolling the suburb of Franklin telling anxious residents to get indoors at about 2.35am, but at 2am hundreds gathered in the vacant strip which separates the industrial estate from the residential suburb along Wells Station Road.
They were leaving their homes in pyjamas and dressing gowns to watch the blaze. More than 50 gathered in a vacant block before police sent them away.
All had similar stories of houses shaking and windows rattling leading them outside to investigate.
Lucy Brown, 19, was asleep when a loud explosion shook the house in which she was sleeping.
''I woke up because the house was shaking and the banging noises,'' she said.
''At first I though it was an earthquake and then I thought it was a bombing.''
Emergency services were overwhelmed with calls. Residents said they were on hold with police for more than a minute before their fears were eased.
There was a stream of cars heading out of the Franklin suburb as residents decided to evacuate.
Franklin resident Alison Robb, 27, drove to a vantage point to get a better view.
"I woke at about 2am and I heard what I thought were bombing noises, and there were explosive noises so I thought 'what the hell' and I looked out my front door and we look straight down to where the fire is and I called emergency and they just said stay inside and lock your doors and windows so I woke my flat mate and could not resist coming down.''
Fire fighters issued a formal emergency alert about the toxic cloud about 2am for areas between Flemington Road and Gungahlin Drive, and the Barton Highway and Wells Station Drive.
They also used the ACT Government's relatively new text warning system, sending a message to mobile phones in the area telling people about the fire and warning residents of Franklin Crace, Harrison, Watson, Downer, Kaleen, Lyneham and Hackett to stay indoors.
There were spelling mistakes in the text message and some people have reported that they wrongly believed it was a hoax.
Some people also received automated calls from authorities with a similar recorded message.