Toxic smoke filled the air in south Auckland for much of the day. Photo: RNZ / Felix Walton
Sims Pacific Metal general manager David Burrows says there will be a full investigation into the massive fire at its Auckland scrap metal yard today but it's too early to discuss its cause or possible compensation.
The fire which broke out at midnight on James Fletcher Drive in Favona sent toxic smoke into the air, forcing residents to stay indoors. It also caused the cancellation of train services because a KiwiRail control room needed to be evacuated.
Burrows, who is based in Australia, apologised on Checkpoint for the disruption the fire has caused.
"We're very cognizant of the impact that this has had on the broader community and our neighbours. We're very sorry for that disruption and that inconvenience... Our teams are working really hard with local emergency services to bring this under control as quickly as we can to get to get back to normal."
"We're very cognizant of the impact that this has had on the broader community and our neighbours" - Sims Pacific Metal general manager David Burrows
He said it was too early to say how the fire might have started but there was no suggestion it was as a result of arson.
The company was keen to work alongside FENZ to "get to the bottom of what caused this".
While he did not want to speculate on the cause of the fire, some materials in the scrap metal received at the site were problematic, he said.
"One of those in particular is lithium ion batteries and they certainly are a headache for the industry and for other waste handlers."
The stack that is burning contains "post consumer metals that is shredded and recycled". Examples included whitegoods, roofing iron, bicycles, hot water systems, metal fencing and vehicle parts.
The company did not accept flammables, however, some whitegoods contained plastic, foam and rubber.
Asked about FENZ attending eight fires at the site in as many years, Burrows said he was unaware of that many.
Since 2017 there had been three fires, he said. The first was an electrical fire in some equipment and a second one in 2018 was similar to the stockpile one burning today.
Burrows said they have fire breaks around materials, fire monitors and misting systems, as well as handheld fire extinguishers and a water truck on the site.
The fire broke out at around midnight. Photo: Supplied / Hayden Cargo
Still hours to go
Firefighters expect to be battling the 10-metre-high fire well into the night.
Fire and Emergency incident controller Phil Larcombe said people in the Ōtāhuhu area will be most affected by toxic smoke, though the plume is now noticeably smaller.
Six fire appliances have been on site this evening along with about 30 firefighters and support people continuing to fight the fire.
A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said the team will be cut back overnight to give people time to rest.
Those near the fire should keep themselves, their families and their pets inside and shut windows and doors.
Anyone exposed to the smoke who felt unwell should contact Healthline.
'Always a risk'
Fire and Emergency risk reduction and investigations manager Pete Gallagher said the multiple fires at the site indicated the need for FENZ to take a look at possible improvements that might be needed, however, it was also a high-risk activity with multiple heat sources.
"There's grinding, cutting, welding torches and such, let alone friction ignition which we can get when metal scrapes on metal.
"So there's always a risk there. We'll be working with the scrapmetal industry on how they can reduce that risk."
However, some risk could not be eliminated because of the nature of the work.
In general, the metal recycling industry was "pretty responsible" in its handling of stockpiles of materials, however, there still needed to be large piles assembled for export.
"And that's what we see accumulating in some of the larger scrapmetal piles."
It was also a sector that self-regulated and it had its own code of practice that members signed up to. FENZ had already been working with companies regarding some of the provisions for fire safety and fire prevention.
He told Checkpoint fires in scrap metal yards tended to be very deep-seated.
A fire might not be large to start off with but it travelled quickly via the heat being conducted by the steel and it was hard to get to the heart of it.
"There's so much mass in among the steelwork it's very difficult for us to get at the seat of the fire."