Favona fire: Today’s scrap metal yard blaze the ninth in five years, Fenz reveals

After nine fires at the same scrap metal yard in five years, nearby heavy industries forced to stop work due to toxic smoke are questioning the business’ operations.

Plumes of thick, black smoke billowed over the city from a burning scrap heap at Sims Metals on James Fletcher Dr in South Auckland’s Favona from early this morning.

One local business owner called the recurring fires “inexcusable”, telling the Herald Sims Metals ought to be investigated for any issues. Auckland Council said it would review any issues which may have caused the fire.

Fire and Emergency NZ said recurring fires at the site were “not good enough”.

Smoke billows from a fire at Sims Metals in Favona in 2018. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Firefighters continued battling the blaze through the night after 14 trucks fought to manage the fire when crews first arrived just after midnight.

Trains were ordered to stop and were cancelled about mid-morning before returning to limited services after a control centre near Favona was evacuated.

Authorities told people to wear face masks and keep windows and doors shut amid concerns about the toxicity of the smoke. Council environmental and pollution officers were at the scene.

Residents as far as 19km away in Maraetai reported smelling smoke, described as like burning plastic, about 9am. Clouds of smoke spread northeast across the city, appearing like a heavy fog.

Fire and Emergency crews work to put out the blaze at Sims Metal on James Fletcher Drive in Favona, South Auckland. Photo / Alex Burton

Smoke was thickest in Ōtāhuhu, immediately east of the scrap yard. A Herald reporter described it as nauseating. Authorities told people to contact Healthline or ring their GP if they had difficulty breathing or chest pain.

Mobile Emergency Alerts were issued for people affected nearby.

Recurring fires ‘inexcusable’ - disrupted nearby business owner

A nearby business owner told the Herald his trade had been majorly disrupted as he’d had to send his workers home because of health concerns.

He demanded WorkSafe and Fire and Emergency NZ investigate Sims Metals for the recurring fires.

“My staff can’t work there due to the toxic smoke, we have 150 clients who depend on that site and now we have had to let them know we are unable to open due to the fire,” he said.

“It is inexcusable. The last major fire there went on for three days. It was a big event.

Firefighters battling a blaze in a pile of scrap metal at a yard in South Auckland's Favona. Photo / Hayden Woodward

“In exactly the same location. Something is definitely wrong in their operations.”

Sims Metals has been approached to comment on those concerns.

Fire and Emergency NZ (Fenz) district manager Brad Mosby said they had responded to nine fires, including yesterday’s, at Sims Metals since November 2017.

“Four of these required firefighting activities, two of which were scrap metal pile fires in 2018 and 2021,” Mosby said.

Fire and Emergency have issued a toxic smoke warning for South Auckland residents this morning. Photo / Mike Scott

More than 80 firefighters tackled an out-on-control blaze “as high as warehouses” at the scrap yard on March 7, 2018.

Fenz incident controller Phil Larcombe told 1News the recurring fires were “not good enough”.

“We’ve been working with management over the years to put better systems in place,” Larcombe said.

Earlier in the day, Sims Metals apologised to neighbours and nearby employees for the inconvenience created by the fire.

Firefighters fighting a blaze at a scrap metal yard in South Auckland this morning. Photo / Hayden Woodward

“The health and welfare of our community ... is of paramount importance to us, and we are deeply sorry for the inconvenience that this incident has caused,” the company said.

“Our practice is to never speculate on the cause of a fire, but we will conduct a review of the incident and take appropriate action to mitigate the possibility of a recurrence, including further review and assessment of inbound material to identify potentially harmful components.”

Auckland Council’s general manager of licensing and regulatory compliance Mervyn Chetty said council officers were working alongside Fenz to assess any environmental damage and health risks caused.

Chetty said there were moderate to high risks associated with scrap metal yards and they were not allowed to discharge any contaminants into the land, water or air.

“Scrap yards serve a purpose; however, site owners must take their responsibilities seriously, around storing, stockpiling and managing this material,” Chetty said.

“In a fire such as this one, Auckland Council will work with partner agencies such as Fire and Emergency and the site itself to review procedures that may have led to the cause.”

Firefighters were using three hoses to douse the fire from two ladders, one unmanned, about midday.

Two claw excavators were moving scrap as the fire continued to burn and metal shredding machinery and conveyor belts were still operating.

Plumes of thick black toxic smoke have filled the air in South Auckland after a scrap yard fire. Photo / Mike Scott

Piles of scrap metal were being separated out to make them smaller and easier to extinguish faster, Fenz assistant area commander for Waitematā Garry Lane said.

“It is a really big pile, [the smoke is] 10m high,” Lane said.

Mosby said the wind shifted about 10am and smoke began moving north over Greenlane, Ellerslie, Mt Wellington and Penrose.

One resident living 8km from the scene, Jo Robertson, said the smell of smoke woke her and her husband about 2.30am.

“We went to all the rooms, around the house, and outside we couldn’t find anything on fire. But the smell was very strong. I had to turn the air filter off.”