Truck carrying ‘dangerous goods’ catches fire on Desert Rd

A truck carrying aerosols and paints caught fire on the Desert Rd.

A Fire and Emergency NZ spokeswoman said crews were called to the truck fire at about 10.30pm on Wednesday.

“When we arrived we found it was the trailer that was fully involved in fire, and the truck had been detached from the trailer,” she said.

A water tanker and crews from Waiōuru and Ohakune attended the incident.

The fire was extinguished after just over an hour but crews returned to the scene “to make sure it wasn’t going to reignite”.

“It was a truck carrying some dangerous goods so they wanted to make sure it was fully extinguished and that all the goods were dealt with.”

A heavy haulage tow truck came to remove the trailer.

A police spokesman said police attended the incident for traffic management.

New Zealand Defence Force also responded to the incident.

“The trailer contained aerosols and paints, but did not cause any immediate threat to the crews on site,” a statement said.

“We are incredibly proud of being able to assist in these responses particularly as this was the first live fire response for two New Zealand Army Sappers, who completed the NZDF Basic Fire Course earlier this year.”

Fire crews left the scene just after 3am.

Eva de Jong is a reporter for the Whanganui Chronicle covering general news stories. She began as a reporter in 2023.