50 houses cleared as fire hits works

Press, 19 April 1979, Page 6

50 houses cleared as fire hits works

PA New Plymouth About 50 houses were evacuated as fire raged through one of the country’s biggest freezing works at Waitara. about 15 miles north of New Plymouth, early this morning. Residents were forced to leave their homes because of fears of a serious leak of ammonia from the Borthwicks works, which caught fire about 9 p.m. yesterday. About 50 firemen, using 11 engines, battled the blaze in the face of an onshore wind which fanned flames to 30m. Millions of dollars worth of export meat was endangered by the fire, which broke out in an old wooden section of the works.

Enveloped in flames early in the fire was a $600,000 quick-freeze unit that had only just been commissioned.

As the blaze continued to show no signs of abating just before midnight, there were fears that ammonia in pipes which were supported by the building could burst if there was a cave-in and that there could be a huge leakage. According to the area commander of the fire Service (Mr M. H. Burke), however, the fire was brought under control at 11.30 p.m. and firemen were able to prevent it reaching the ammonia bulk storage tanks housed by the engine room. The fire began just after 9 p.m. in what is known as the “One and three” block, where workmen had earlier been cutting pipes with welding gear. The exact cause was still being investigated early this morning by the fire safety officer, Mr B. A. Hartley.

The blaze spread rapidly through the roof and upper sections of the mostly disused area of the works and towards the IOOm-long seaward side where the engine room and bulk ammonia tanks are housed.

Mr Burke said early this morning the main effort had been to empty the pipes of ammonia back into the bulk tanks to prevent any leakage.

It was not known this morning how much meat had been lost. The chambers were about two-thirds full of export meat according to the works manager (Mr Tom Beeby). No precise estimate of its value was known, but it ran into several millions of dollars, he said. The works, the Taranaki region’s “life blood” and Waitara’s biggest employer by far, was totally destroyed by fire just after the turn of the century.