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Robyn Edie / Stuff
Emergency services in the old Mataura paper factory, where part of it is on fire. The mill also contains ouvea premix, which is considered a hazardous substance.
Fire chiefs say this afternoon that the fire at the former paper mill in Mataura is nowhere near the ouvea premix that is stored on site.
“There is no danger of the fire approaching the premix,” Incident Controller Scott Lindsay said.
The fire is 30 meters from the premix and on another floor and is now considered contained by the fire service.
The fire 10 m by 10 m in size and currently contained. It is in a sub-basement of the hydroelectric generator.
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“We extinguish the fire once we know there is no power being generated in that area,” Lindsay said.
The fire started at 1:40 p.m.
About 30 firefighters and the Hazmat team are on the site of the old mill. A road detour has been established.
Early reports indicated that the fire was “well involved.”
Blair Jackson / Stuff
Looking north at the old paper mill from the corner of Kana St and Doctors Rd. Emergency services are on the scene after a fire broke out in part of the mill.
The initial concern of the fire was regarding the ouvea premix that is stored at the mill.
Taha Asia Pacific was the company that stored 10,000 tons of the premix in the old paper mill and another 10,000 in the Invercargill warehouses before its liquidation in 2016.
Taha had a contract with Rio Tinto, owner of the Tiwai Point aluminum smelter, to take the slag and turn it into the premix to be used as fertilizer.
The premix has been a contentious point for Mataura residents who want the substance removed from their city.
Dianne Manson / Getty Images
Firefighters rush to the scene of a fire in the old paper factory building in Mataura.
The FENZ HAZMAT rescue command truck arrived at 2.35 pm and firefighters began to set up about 300 meters from the mill.
There are three fire trucks and at least five police cars at the scene.
At approximately 2:43 p.m., the Hazmat truck headed north past the mill and appeared to leave the scene. The three fire trucks are still next to the mill.
Electricity has also been intermittent in the municipality since the fire. PowerNet also has two vehicles at the plant.
Do you have images or video of the fire in Mataura? Send them to [email protected]
Chris Couzens, a resident of Mataura, said a strong wind was blowing toward the fire.
“When the fire started there was a strong chemical smell, we put on masks.
“The smell is not that bad now, but we can still smell it.”
Couzen said he had not been told to evacuate.
Murray Kitto, 74 of Gore, said he saw smoke coming out of the building after hearing the fire station alarm and going out to take a look.
“It didn’t look good when it started. White smoke was coming out of the building, ”Kitto said.
Kitto said it was a reminder of “absolute right” that the ouvea premix should be removed from the building.
Another Mataura resident said the fire was believed to be at the “hydrogenerator plant”, which generates electricity for the building.
“There is smoke everywhere, smoke is coming out of chimneys and there are firefighters in all directions,” he said.
Lana Rangi, a resident of Mataura, said she was at Mataura school, where our children were let out early due to road detours.
Rangi said he had not seen smoke, but that there were police cars throughout the municipality on both sides of the bridge.
Gore District Mayor Tracy Hicks said he had learned of the fire but was still in the process of getting more details.
A statement from the Gore district council says they were informed of the fire, which forced the closure of the Mataura Bridge.
“There is a detour on Kaiwera Rd for southbound traffic. Our highway team says that Kaiwera Rd is sealed with no bridge weight restrictions, making it suitable for heavy hauling. “
An assistant at Mataura Caltex said they had run out of power and were likely to be closing that day.
The Caltex was too far from the fire to notice the smoke, but there were many police cars and highway detours at the scene, he said.
A Mataura business owner said there had been power outages since the fire started.
In July, emergency services were called to the old paper mill due to a broken sprinkler.
