Napier Gull service station fire scorches store

A fire early Tuesday morning left heavy smoke damage inside the Taradale Rd Gull service station store. Photo / Warren Buckland

A fire at a Gull service station in Napier scorched the store but left the forecourt untouched early Tuesday morning.

Emergency services were called to the large fire on Taradale Rd, Marewa, Napier, at 1.20am.

Napier senior station officer Jamie Nichol said three pump trucks from Napier and one from Taradale, were at the fire for about two and a half hours.

“We had it well under control within 40 minutes, but we didn’t leave the scene until a bit after four o’clock,” Nichol said.

“The whole shop was badly smoke damaged, but the forecourt was undamaged.”

He said firefighters believed the fire started in the storage room of the building but they did not know the exact cause.

“We have got a fire investigator looking at it this morning, but it is not suspicious so it is just now determining what might have started it.”

He said the attendant working overnight was the only person inside at the time and raised the alarm.

Mike Williamson, Gull’s retail business manager, said Gull was grateful no one was hurt.

“The operators of the Night ‘n Day convenience store are currently resting after a rather stressful night,” Williamson said.

He said that sprinklers were not used on the forecourt as water was not appropriate for putting out fires where fuel is involved, and the shop did not have sprinklers either for the same reasons.

“In the case of smaller fires that don’t present an immediate danger to people onsite, chemical extinguishers are available to tackle the fire. In all other cases, the instruction is to get as far away from the fire as possible.”

He said that service stations were hazardous facilities and it was vital they were all designed and operated in a way that presented as little danger as possible.

“For decades, service station design has meant that even in the event of a catastrophic fire where the above-ground assets are completely destroyed, it is extremely unlikely and rare for the fuel underground to be at any risk,” he said.

“By being careful with building materials, fires are often contained and otherwise move relatively slowly through the site giving people plenty of time to evacuate. In this particular case, while the shop sustained extensive smoke damage the fire itself was contained to the rear storage area of the building.”

He said Gull will be investigating the incident.

“From here, we’re fully investigating both what happened and if there are any lessons for Gull and the industry from this event. We will be working over the coming weeks to safely restore services to the forecourt to begin serving the people of Napier again as soon as possible.”