'Too early to speculate': Cause of massive Ngongotahā wreckers blaze unknown

It is "too early to speculate" the cause of the large Ngongotahā blaze that sent black plumes of smoke across the city, an incident controller says.

A car wreckers on Wikaraka St, Ngongotahā, was ablaze last night with emergency services alerted about 7.10pm. Smoke could be seen from all over the city.

A firefighter at the scene of the fire this morning said he estimated there were about 1000 cars are in the complex with hundreds affected by the fire.

At its peak, 22 fire crews from Ngongotahā, Rotorua, Mamaku, Putaruru, Tirau, Rotoma, Kawerau, Tokoroa, Greerton and Mount Maunganui attended the scene where dozens of old cars were burning.

A firefighter scour the debris of the car wrecker yard. Photo / Ben Fraser

The blaze was under control by about 11pm, however, three crews remained at the scene overnight and local firefighters headed back to the scene this morning.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand incident controller Hamish Smith said it had been a "long night" that could have been a lot worse without the teamwork of the community,

Crews received multiple calls of plumes of black smoke coming from the industrial zone of Ngongotahā.

Two local crews arrived to find a "well-developed" fire in the car wreckers yard, he said.

The cars, equipped with interior lining, seats, rubber tyres and even oil meant the scene was "unpredictable" and hazardous, he said. All of these products were combustible and produced large volumes of smoke.

Smith said a fire of this nature was "not the easiest to put out".

"It was a really challenging and technical job."

Not only that, but the environment was not entirely safe for the masses of firefighters.

He said as many of the burning cars were stacked on top of each other, it was very "unstable" and crews could not get too close, he said.

Image 1 of 10: Fire at Auto Dismantlers in Ngongotaha. Photo /supplied

As the car yard was surrounded by other dwellings, crews set themselves up early to protect surrounding buildings, he said.

"Sawdust, dry timber and houses" were all only metres away from the blaze, he said.

"There were a lot of potential risks."

Aerial view of the fire. Photo / Supplied

The council quickly got to work to open the water mains for the crews, but as demand was so high, firefighters were running 200m down the road to get water from the lake.

And although this was a blessing at the time, the Bay of Plenty Regional Council arrived quickly to put booms in place to ensure the toxic water did not run back into the lake.

A few firefighters were assessed by St John at the scene with heat-related symptoms, but no one was taken to hospital, he said.

Smith said it was "too early to speculate" on the cause of the fire, but a number of investigators would be at the scene this morning.

At an operation such as a car wrecker, a number of potential causes could be identified, he said.

He said there was no one at the scene of the business when the blaze started.

The fire was contained to the car-wrecker yard and measured 100m by 60m as crews started to be released last night.

Fire crews had worked with an excavator to remove cars from the yard and extinguish hot spots.

A view of the fire from across Lake Rotorua. Photo / Philip Williams

No one from the area was evacuated last night.

Footage of the fire showed a large, dark plume of smoke coming from the car wrecking yard. A resident said it smelt "toxic".

🔥🚨 Fire and Emergency New Zealand is in attendance at a well involved industrial fire in Ngongotaha, Rotorua...

Posted by Fire and Emergency NZ Communication Centres on Monday, 10 February 2020

Aerial view of the fire. Photo / Supplied

Locals were advised to avoid the area and residents who lived downwind from the blaze should stay indoors and keep their windows closed.

A witness told the Rotorua Daily Post there were "lots of old cars piled up" at the site.

"You can hear all the tyres going bang."

She said people gathering were being asked to move because of risks from overhead power lines.

Witness Jonathon Hagger noticed the fire at 7.30pm while driving across town.

"The fire seems to have gone up really fast," he said.

View of the fire from across Lake Rotorua. Photo / Philip Williams

Emergency services in Ngongotahā. Photo / greyphotography2020

Another witness, Stevee Ray Raureti, said he could see the blaze from Lake Tarawera.

"I am a teacher at Ngongotahā Primary School so we drove here [to Ngongotahā] in the hope it wasn't the school or any whānau. You can smell it and there are continuous explosions."

The blaze measures 100m by 60m. Photo / Supplied

Jen Eastgate said "it smelled like burning rubber and diesel" and she "could hear it crackling" from a nearby street.

Smith wanted to thank the volunteers and career fire crews, who had come from all corners of the region, at the end of their work day to help.

Many had not had a chance to eat or rest, but made the decision to do their bit, he said.

Some had even taken annual leave or spoken to their employers to ensure they could help out this morning too, he said.

The "dedication of the crews" was something to be admired, he said.