Police and fire safety officers are investigating the cause of a weekend blaze which badly damaged a Hastings warehouse and much of its stock of cardboard horticultural packaging.
Eight Fire and Emergency New Zealand appliances involving over 30 firefighters from Hastings and Napier were involved in fighting the fire in a building on the corner of Nelson and Williams Sts and adjacent to the railway line in the Mahora North industrial area.
It was reported in multiple 111 calls just before 10pm on Saturday and Hastings station Senior Fire Officer Michael Manning said about a quarter of the 50m long building was well involved in fire by the time the first crews arrived.
With the firefight limited to a ground attack with focusing on stopping the spread of the fire to a neighbouring facility, it was about an hour before the fire was under control, but heavy machinery, including a 12-excavator, were brought-in early morning to break-down and delayer the ceiling-high palletised stacks of still burning and smouldering packaging.
Foam was also used to ensure the fire was fully extinguished and it was not until about 9.30am yesterday that the last of the fire crews was able to leave the scene, almost 12 hours after the alarm was raised.