Smoke from Onehunga fire may flare up again

Investigators are probing the cause of an Auckland blaze as firefighters ready themselves to tackle the flames for a second night.

The major blaze at the Green Gorilla facility in Onehunga began Wednesday afternoon, forcing nearby businesses to evacuate.

The fire was contained by Thursday morning, but was "very deep seated", incident controller Brad Harvey said.

Diggers and front-end loaders were operating at the site, pulling the pile of burning wood apart layer by layer, while aerial applicances kept the area damp, he said.

"USAR drones were operating earlier today to help our crews identify hot spots.

"The fire is under control, but operations are expected to continue through the night with a smaller crew in attendance."

Investigations into the cause of the blaze were ongoing, Harvey said.

Fire and Emergency NZ assistant commander Mike Manning said about 40 firefighters were on site on Thursday.

"There is much work to be done to de-layer it and get it fully extinguished."

Drones were being used to get heat signatures so aerial appliances could "hit those pockets of fire really hard", Manning said.

"Then we can get our heavy machinery in to de-layer the pile."

The fire would start to flare and create "quite a bit of smoke" when the pile was opened up, he said.

"[But] we've got the resources around it now to contain it and we want to really progress the incident so we can get everyone back into the neighbouring occupancies."

Auckland Council and a public health pollution response team had visited the site and testing found the water was safe to be going down the drains.

"We've had public health do some testing, there's no asbestos and we've had no indication that there's any hazardous materials in the pile," Manning said.

A fire of this scale took a lot of resources, though fires of this scale were common in the city, he said.

Green Gorilla chief executive Elaine Morgan told Morning Report there were enough appliances to fight the fire but "they didn't have adequate water resources to fight the fire".

"There was an issue with water on the street."

Morgan said she has raised this concern with Fire and Emergency NZ (FENZ) who told her it would be investigating the reasons why there wasn't sufficient water.

Westbound lanes on Neilson Street, between Alfred and Galway Street, were closed as a result.

FENZ would open the road when they could remove their hoses, Morgan said.

The road was closed because of "very bad water supply here along the street", she said.

"And so for the fire department to get enough pressure and enough water, they've had to run their lines way down to the other end of Victoria Street so those lines are coming across the road and it's important nobody drives over them."

Manning said this was something they deal with every day.

They were "well equipped to adapt to those water supply issues in the infancy of a job but we secured an adequate water supply very very quickly to enable us to go about our work".

"We've secured a large water supply from Neilson St... midway through [Wednesday] afternoon and that water supply has been quite adequate for our operations throughout [Wednesday] afternoon and the evening into [Thursday].

"What we have in these large industrial precincts is different sized water mains, so we had to bring in water off a large capacity main down in Neilson St using one of our specialist appliances called a hose layer, so we had to lay in about six to 700 metres of hose and put some intermediate pumps in to keep the continuity of supply up to the fire ground."

The larger mains were generally on arterials and major roads, which break down into smaller water mains, Manning said.

There were 35 to 40 staff on scene dealing with what is a complex and large fire, he said.

The fire was contained "however it's very very deep seated".

A review was being done on the surrounding site infrastructure every three hours, he said.

Green Gorilla is the largest processor of construction and demolition waste in the country.

"It's only wood that's burning at the moment, all our infrastructure is safe and sound," Morgan said.

She said there was no issue with hazardous waste.

"We're 99.9 percent sure it wasn't deliberately lit ... We've got some view on how it happened which we've discussed with FENZ and they're just investigating that now."

Traffic congestion

Commuters in Onehunga should expect delays as smoke continues to billow from a fire at a rubbish and recycling plant.

Bus services were also affected.

NEILSON ST, ONEHUNGA - 6:25AM, THU 08 FEB
Due to an ongoing fire on Victoria St, westbound lanes on Neilson St remain closed between Alfred St & Galway St. Eastbound lanes are open. Expect delays with diversions affecting all westbound traffic, including bus services. ^TP pic.twitter.com/SgQCaedLEA

— Auckland Transport Travel Alerts (@AT_TravelAlerts) February 7, 2024

An RNZ reporter at the scene said there was still a pungent smell in the air.

The Mainfreight warehouse neighbouring the burning waste management plant will remain closed for the day.

A worker told RNZ his coworkers had been told to work from another branch.

It was not yet clear whether other businesses will also remain closed.

Fire and Emergency advised people to avoid the area and keep windows closed.

It earlier said people should keep out of the smoke.

"If the smoke causes respiratory problems, please ring Healthline for free advice on 0800 611116 or see your doctor if you have breathing difficulties or chest pain."

Asthma and Respiratory Foundation urged those with respiratory conditions to protect themselves from smoke exposure.

The foundation advised nearby residents to close all windows and doors when inside and to wear an N95 or KN95 mask if going outside.

Chief executive Letitia Harding said breathing in smoke from fires can pose serious risks for those with respiratory conditions, like asthma.