Firefighters dealt with 56 drums of the highly flammable chemical. Photo / Dean Purcell
Firefighters dealt with 56 drums of the highly flammable chemical. Photo / Dean Purcell
KEY POINTS:
Firefighters used breathing apparatus and worked in shifts yesterday to remove leaking drums of flammable liquid from a damaged shipping container.
It took around five hours to salvage 56 drums, each holding 200 litres of highly flammable isopropyl alcohol.
About a dozen of the drums had been crushedand several were leaking when the damaged container was delivered to an industrial site in Hobill Ave, Wiri, yesterday morning.
"The roof was pushed right in on top of the drums and [workers] got quite strong smells of the isopropyl alcohol," said Manukau deputy chief fire officer Andy Clarkson.
Firefighters used fork hoists and rescue equipment, including jacks and hydraulic rams, to lift the roof and release the drums.
"That is what made it a slow job," Mr Clarkson said.
Firefighters working in the hot and hazardous conditions were rotated every 20 to 25 minutes.
A breathing apparatus tender was used to refill tanks at the site and a foam tender was on standby.
Mr Clarkson said an absorbent was used to mop up a small amount of liquid inside the container, while the damaged drums were transferred into larger containers.
