Eleven firefighters have been decontaminated for asbestos after battling a large fire at a car wrecking yard in Auckland.
The fire broke out at a car wrecking yard near Patrick Pardo's home. Photo: FACEBOOK / Patrick Pardo
The large fire at a car wrecking yard on McLeod Road in the suburb of Te Atatu South broke out at 2.45pm today.
The Fire Service said the blaze was contained, but 13 fire crews were likely to stay overnight.
The assistant area commander and incident controller on site, John Booth, said the blaze destroyed an asbestos-type roof, and a public health officer had assessed it.
"If the asbestos was allowed to dry out and the wind got up, you know it could become a hazard to people, but we're going to be here most of the night and keeping the area wet, so any hazard will be mitigated right to the lowest point."
Mr Booth said some firefighters received a wash-down as a precaution, before going home.
He said the council and a public health officer would be back in the morning.
Neighbours earlier told to stay indoors can now go out.
A resident nearby, Patrick Pardo, said he was asleep when his partner woke him up, with the fire about 20m from his home, he said.
They heard loud explosions and ran outside to look at the fire. "It was huge, [there was] black smoke coming out of the building."
The building had been gutted, he said.