Some beaches on Auckland's North Shore are closed today due to a chemical spill in the water from the recycling plant fire in Wairau Valley overnight.
On its website, SafeSwim warned people to "avoid contact with water" due to "hazardous substances" from yesterday's recycling plant fire on Hillside Rd.
There has been fallout on several fronts from the fire with potential environmental harm; devastated disabled workers and their charity; and a firefighters' union angered that equipment failed during the response, leaving two crew stranded above the massive blaze.
The charity in charge of the plant, Abilities Group, said in a statement: "We are heartbroken."
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Managing director at Abilities Group Peter Fraher said, "we're working with the authorities and have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and kind messages from our local North Shore community".
Fraher said a counselling service would be available to support employees and he thanked FENZ teams who "battled tirelessly throughout the night to control the blaze".
The fire destroyed critical equipment and spaces essential to the charity's daily operations said Fraher and, while all staff and volunteers were safe, "the impact on the team has been immense".
"Abilities is more than a workplace — it’s a supportive environment where disabled people find purpose, opportunity, and community. Losing that is a huge blow."
Some Abilities Group workers were at the scene on Friday morning to see the damage for themselves.
Mana Karena, an employee at the plant along with his grandmother, said he too was "heartbroken" and worried about losing his job and the company.
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Another employee Glenn Bishop was also watching the fire crews this morning with his mother . He said he was "devastated".
"I was in tears last night when I heard it on the TV," Glenn's mother, Robyn Dennis, said.
"Absolutely devastated for all the workers that work here and the staff that are so dedicated to their jobs," she said
"I am gutted for [Glenn] because he loves getting up and going to work every day, it's part of his routine and his life," she said.
A Givealittle page has been launched by the Abilities Group charity to help support the more than 100 disabled staff and volunteers who worked at the facility.
Fire crews returned to the plant this morning with three fire trucks, two ladder trucks and two diggers to open the structure and fully extinguish the fire, Assistant Commander James Hall said.
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"While there are small flare ups, there is no significant smoke and the lithium-ion batteries involved in the fire are no longer a hazard," he said.
Senior Takapuna station officer Steven Callagher said the fire was now out and crews were dampening down hotspots, assisted by heavy earth moving machinery.
"It's the largest fire that I can remember for a few years on the North Shore," he said.
"It did suck up a lot of resources from Auckland central and west Auckland, as well as pretty much the entire North Shore fire brigade."
Callagher said the cause of the fire was still being investigated but, according to CCTV and witnesses, the flames broke out in an "area where batteries were recycled."
Large dark plumes of smoke stretched across multiple suburbs yesterday, and many shared images and videos on social media of the blaze. In an update late last night, Assistant Commander Barry Thomas said the fire had been brought under control, when the incident was scaled down to a second alarm level.
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"There is significantly less smoke, but it continues to affect communities in Glenfield and Witheford Heights," he said.
"Crews are expected to remain at the scene until later this afternoon," said Hall.
Concerns about firefighting equipment
Also in the aftermath of the blaze, the New Zealand Professional Fire Fighters Union has raised concerns about the safety of fire resources after it said an aerial ladder truck broke down — leaving two firefighters stranded above the flames.
The union said the pair were "showered with burning embers and inundated with toxic smoke and combustion particles".
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The firefighters had to be rescued using another aerial appliance as all emergency backups failed.
"The union has requested that Fire and Emergency immediately impound the truck and begin a full and comprehensive investigation by a specialist team," it said in a statement.
The union said the service history of the truck, any repair issues raised by staff, training, emergency procedures, testing and quality assurance should all be looked into.
Another aerial vehicle also broke down, according to the union, due to losing "all hydraulic power through a major leak".
"Major servicing such as the 10-year rebuild and service of the aerials having been postponed by Fire and Emergency management, with many now several years overdue," the union claimed.
"The people of Tāmaki Makaurau, and New Zealand, deserve much better. It is long past time for action from the Fire and Emergency Board."
FENZ region manager Te Hiku Ron Devlin said the appliance involved was taken to a workshop for cleaning and testing "and at this time we have been informed that they have not been able replicate the fault that occurred during the fire".
"The safety and wellbeing of our people is of prime importance to Fire and Emergency New Zealand. A full investigation will be carried out into the appliance incident and the appliance will remain off the run until we have remedied the fault and it is tested to be fully operational."
