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The first firefighters in a massive fire in an Auckland motorhome yard were forced to retreat after leaking water when two old pumps broke.
Two crews, from Māngere and Ohehunga stations, were the first sent to the fire in the THL Rentals yard on Richard Pearse Dr near Auckland Airport.
The Māngere station crew arrived at the yard shortly after 5 a.m. Thursday aboard a 24-year-old Scania truck, in use because newer MAN pumps were removed for repair after cracks were found.
Two firefighters from Māngere entered the courtyard amid flames and acrid smoke only to lose water supply once inside.
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New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union Local Secretary Martin Campbell from Gray Lynn Station said the throttle cable connecting the engine to the water pump broke, causing a rapid loss of water pressure.
The Onehunga Fire Station truck also experienced difficulties with its pump upon arrival.
It is the latest in a series of breakdowns for the Scania relief truck at Māngere station, Campbell said.
“It’s too old, you have to remove it.”
Losing water in any fire was dangerous, let alone on the scale of the fire that morning, Campbell said.
David White / Stuff
The charred remains of a Maui caravan in the backyard. The fire started inside the workshop.
Witnesses reported a fierce fire fueled by diesel and LPG cylinders that exploded.
Campbell said it was difficult to know for sure whether the loss of the two trucks that responded first would have changed the outcome of the fire, “but it certainly wouldn’t have helped the situation.”
The Union had been warning Fire and Emergency NZ for months about the status of its relief fleet, old trucks that have been filling up since December as newer models undergo repairs, he said.
NZ Auckland Fire and Emergency Area Manager Richard Twomey said Onehunga and Māngere stations were due to receive their appliances repaired on Thursday, the day of the fire.
“We are launching an immediate safety investigation that will include investigating the circumstances surrounding the pump failures.
“Our people do dangerous work and their safety at all times is paramount.”
FENZ will also conduct a review of the fire operation, a routine with all large fires, he said.
None of the firefighters who lost water were injured.
DAVID WHITE / Things
The Scania emergency device that broke down shortly after its arrival on Thursday at the Ōtāhuhu repair shop used by Fire and Emergency NZ. (File photo).
At the peak of the fire, 19 fire trucks were on the scene.
Police and fire investigators remain at the scene, but the cause is unknown.
It is understood that fire crews had difficulty accessing the scene upon arrival and used a gas ax to remove a fence to enter the yard.
Thursday’s incident is the latest in a series of breakdowns affecting Auckland fire crews.
In December, another aging fire truck lost its lights and sirens en route to a large fire at United Movers in Takanini.
A power failure occurred as the truck passed through Parnell and had to be escorted by another fire truck along the freeway.
Auckland City Station’s 23-year-old revolving ladder engine was relieving a newer aerial truck out of service since February 2019 with a cracked chassis subframe.
Around the same time, the Gray Lynn Fire Station was forced to use a rental truck after its rescue tender broke down.
Geoff Mackley / Supplied
The fire at THL Rentals near Auckland Airport consumed a workshop and several motorhomes early Thursday morning.
Concerns about the state of the firefighting fleet came to light after the SkyCity Convention Center fire in October.
A source said Stuff At the time, the city’s air fleet was “in tatters” and more tall trucks could have helped control the fire earlier.
The city’s newest aerial unit, a truck with a tall ladder, like a cherry picker, was under repair due to chassis cracks at the time of the SkyCity Convention Center fire.
