Fire at auto wreckers’ yard

CALLOUT: Firefighters tackle yesterday's blaze at a wreckers' yard in Stanley Road. Picture supplied

Firefighters were called to East Coast Auto Wreckers in Stanley Road yesterday afternoon after a fire started in a storage area next to the yard's workshop.

Fire and Emergency NZ sent three appliances to the incident at around 4.30pm.

“The stored materials, mainly car parts and used tyres, were well alight when we arrived,” said Senior Station Officer Ed Hindmarsh.

“There was a lot of dense black smoke generated, mainly from the burning rubber, that drifted with the wind towards the central city.”

The three fire crews who attended had the fire knocked back in about 20 minutes.

“Fortunately we were able to stop it causing any significant damage to the workshop,” SSO Hindmarsh said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

“The yard owner told us he had no idea how it might have started.”

Stanley Road was closed off to traffic until about 5.30pm. Detours were put in place through the industrial subdivision.

There was a strong smell of fumes noticeable some distance towards the central city for some time after the fire was put out.

“The smoke that was generated dissipated quite quickly once we got water on to the fire,” said SSO Hindmarsh.