“It’s unfortunate, but it’s the nature of the work they do.” He said while the fire was extinguished “pretty quickly” the crews who had arrived on site first had acted quickly.
Ricky Wilson/STUFF/Stuff
Fire and Emergency s Counties Manukau area manager Geoff Purcell said the fire at Global Metal Solutions is now under control. “If you don’t get in hard and stop the fire burning quickly in situations like this then it can become an all day event,” Dalton said. Eli Nathan, who works at an office adjacent to Global Metal Solutions, said he saw “smoke clouding into the atmosphere” on Tuesday morning, but said the fire had later subsided.
Watch: A huge fire at a metal scrapyard in south Auckland has been burning for 10 hours, billowing black smoke into the sky. Credits: Video - Newshub; Image - Clash Richardson / Supplied
Firefighters are battling an absolutely massive blaze at a wrecking yard in the Auckland suburb of Papakura, with clouds of thick, black smoke pouring from the premises.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) responded to a report that multiple vehicles were ablaze at a scrap metal dealer, Global Metal Solutions, on Hunua Road in the south Auckland suburb, a spokesperson confirmed to Newshub. The flames quickly escalated to a level-three-alarm fire.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) confirmed to Newshub early on Thursday morning that the blaze is now under control.
A couple of firetrucks remained at the scene overnight to monitor hotspots, the spokesperson said. The blaze was largely contained by early evening and the heavy smoke had mostly dissipated by 6pm.
Appropriate safety measures were carried out in the disposal of the burning scrap metal, Global Metal Solutions chief executive Roger Wilson told RNZ last night.
He said it is still unknown how the fire ignited. Locals were warned by emergency alerts and the police to avoid the dense, black smoke.