Safety first as Napier’s Ravensdown considers resuming chimney removal after fire

Work on dismantling the landmark chimney stacks at Ravensdown’s Napier plant remains suspended in the wake of a fire in one of its three towers on Wednesday.

Smoke billowing from the red and white stack of the Ravensdown plant in Awatoto on Wednesday. Photo / NZME

Chief operating officer Mike Whitty says working making the stacks safe has been completed, and safe access is expected to be in place next week, when the company will determine when dismantling of the decommissioned structure can be resumed.

The demolition is part of a major upgrade following the devastation of Cyclone Gabrielle in February 2023.

The investigation into the cause of the fire is “under way”, and manufacture of fertiliser on site is uninterrupted, Whitty said.

Fire broke out about 9.20am on Wednesday near the top of the ageing chimney stacks, which are to be replaced by a 55m-tall chimney.

A pall of black smoke was visible for many kilometres across the plains, flame were visible, and the passing section of State Highway 51 was closed to traffic for a short time.

Doug Laing is a senior reporter based in Napier with Hawke’s Bay Today, and has 51 years of journalism experience, 40 of them in Hawke’s Bay, in news gathering, including breaking news, sports, local events, issues, and personalities.