A spectacular blaze in a Christchurch scrap metal yard that started Wednesday night is under control but still burning this morning.
Fire doused at National Steel scrap metal yard in Woolston, Christchurch on 18 August 2022. Photo: RNZ / Jean Edwards
It swept through a scrap metal yard in the suburb of Woolston in the east of the city about 8pm, resulting in explosions and heavy smoke for several hours.
Fire and Emergency said it was called after reports of cars on fire.
It is believed the fire is at scrap business National Steel.
Residents posted images of the blaze on social media.
A public health warning was issued last night with people affected by the smoke. They were advised to close their windows and doors and not go outside.
Assistant fire commander Dave Key told Morning Report the fire has been contained, although it was still producing a lot of smoke but not much in the way of flames.
Fire and Emergency was working with the business owner to get hold of some heavy machinery so that some of the vehicles could be moved to get to the seat of the fire.
"It creates the issue of access because they have been compacted and crushed and in places they are about 15 metres high."
Fire doused at National Steel scrap metal yard in Woolston, Christchurch on 18 August 2022. Photo: RNZ / Jean Edwards
"In places they are about 15 metres high" - Assistant fire commander Dave Key
At its height, the fire was spectacular, Key said, and many residents arrived at the scene to take a look.
Fifteen fire appliances and 50 firefighters were at the scene when the blaze was at its peak.
He estimated Fire and Emergency would stay there all day.
No private properties were damaged although some were evacuated, Key said.
The streets near the business have been closed although there were hopes of reducing the cordon later in the day.
An animal rescue shelter Bull Breed Rescue is located near the scrap metal yard.
Its spokesperson Abbey van der Plas could access her surveillance cameras from her phone and while it was still small at that stage, she could tell it would grow.
"There was a lot of explosions going on" - Bull Breed Rescue spokesperson Abbey van der Plas
She said she rushed to get her eight dogs out as fast as possible.
She phoned the Christchurch City Council's Animal Control and got its offer of help so alerted other staff to get to the shelter as quickly as possible.
"We raced in and we picked up all the dogs and got them something to chew and warm jackets to wear.
"You could definitely feel the heat from our site, more so the commotion. There was a lot of explosions going on, there were a lot of rubberneckers, there was a lot of sirens and just a lot of commotion that really stressed them out."
It was best to remove them as quickly as possible because the smoke was becoming "really thick really fast".
Van der Plas said there was a huge number of compacted cars on the site with her view of the Port Hills now blocked by "a giant pile of cars".
She expected the dogs to be away from the premises for some time but the council's help had ensured a good outcome for them.