Firefighters battle blaze and toxic acids

Firefighters battling a major fire in a West Auckland factory this evening will undergo decontamination after fears they have come into contact with dangerous toxic acids.

Northern Fire shift manager Jaron Phillips said 10 fire crews who raced to the scene had contained the blaze at an electroplating workshop in Honan Place, Avondale.

A fibreglass acid bath was on fire and large amounts of black smoke was seen billowing from the industrial building, he said.

Assistant area commander Geoff Purcell said there were concerns firefighters who entered the workshop may have been exposed to highly corrosive toxic chemicals from the fibreglass acid bath used in the electroplating process.

"Anyone who entered the building will go through the full shower process," said Purcell.

Nine firefighters would undergo decontamination as a precaution, he said.

The electroplating factory where the blaze started is a rear unit of a three-unit block.

At this stage the fire had been contained to the single storey unit but it was not known if other adjoining units had been damaged.

Phillips said two specialist hazardous materials vehicles had arrived at the scene and would be used to decontaminate fire crews before they left the site tonight.

Other emergency services including police and ambulance also attended the blaze.

The alarm was raised just before 5pm.