Fire at Open Country Dairy in Horotiu

Emergency services responded to a fire at the Waikato Open Country dairy.

The alarm went off at 9.43 a.m. M. When Fire and Emergency New Zealand was alerted to apparent sounds of an explosion and the smell of gas at the Horotiu site.

Open Country president Laurie Margrain later told the Herald that there was a fire but not an explosion at the factory. She said the fire was the result of a failure in an air heater used to heat the dry milk dryer.

Margrain said there were no injuries and that he did not believe the incident was significant, but that it could cause a production problem.

Police are also present, but firefighters are running the response operation.

Firefighters at the scene found no evidence of a fire, but confirmed an explosion.

Fire Northern Communications Manager Craig Dally said the building had been evacuated, there were no injuries and the area was contained as firefighters awaited the arrival of the gas authority to shut off the gas.

The incident would be investigated after that.

Open Country is the second largest dairy company in New Zealand. Earlier this month, he was convicted and fined $ 137,500 for discharging an odor that caused nausea, retching and vomiting in some in the Waharoa community near Matamata last year.

The company was also ordered in Hamilton District Court to deposit $ 120,000 in a trust for the community as reparation.

It was the fifth environmental prosecution against Open Country in Waikato.