Both first-responding fire pumps broke down at Auckland THL Rentals blaze
Thursday, 3 September 2020
The first firefighters at a massive blaze at an Auckland campervan yard were forced to retreat after they lost water as two ageing pumps broke down.
Two crews, from Māngere and Ohehunga stations, were the first deployed to the blaze at the THL Rentals yard, on Richard Pearse Dr, near Auckland Airport.
The crew from Māngere station arrived at the yard shortly after 5am on Thursday aboard a 24-year-old Scania truck, in use because newer MAN pumps were pulled for repairs after cracks were found.
Two Māngere firefighters entered the yard amid flames and acrid smoke only to lose water supply once inside.
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NZ Professional Firefighters Union Auckland local secretary Martin Campbell, of Grey Lynn station, said the throttle cable linking the engine to the water pump broke, causing a rapid loss of water pressure.
The truck from the Onehunga fire station also experienced difficulty with its pump on arrival.
It is the latest in a string of breakdowns for the Scania relief truck at Māngere station, Campbell said.
“It’s too old, it needs to be taken away.”
Losing water at any fire was dangerous, let alone one of the scale of the blaze that morning, Campbell said.
Witnesses reported a ferocious blaze fuelled by diesel and exploding LPG cylinders.
Campbell said it was hard to know for certain if losing the two first responding trucks would have changed the outcome of the fire, “but it certainly wouldn’t have helped the situation.”
The Union had been warning Fire and Emergency NZ for months about the state of its relief fleet, old trucks which have been filling in since December as newer models undergo repairs, he said.
Fire and Emergency NZ Auckland area manager Richard Twomey said both the Onehunga and Māngere stations were due to receive their repaired appliances back on Thursday, the day of the fire.
“We are launching an immediate safety investigation which will include investigating the circumstances surrounding the pump failures.
“Our people do a dangerous job, and their safety at all times is paramount.”
FENZ is also to conduct an operation review of the fire, routine with all large blazes, he said.
Neither of the firefighters who lost water were injured.
At the peak of the blaze 19 fire engines were on scene.
Police and fire investigators remain at the scene but the cause remains unknown.
It is understood fire crews had difficulty accessing the scene upon arrival and used a gas axe to remove a fence to enter the yard.
Thursday's incident is the latest in a string of breakdowns affecting Auckland fire crews.
In December, another ageing fire truck lost its lights and sirens en route to a large fire at United Movers in Takanini.
An electrical malfunction happened when the truck was passing Parnell and it had to be escorted by another fire engine along the motorway.
The 23-year-old turntable ladder engine from the Auckland City station was relieving for a newer aerial truck out of action since February 2019 with a cracked chassis sub-frame.
Around the same time, Grey Lynn fire station was forced to use a rental truck after its salvage tender broke down.
Concerns about the state of the firefighting fleet came to the fore in the wake of the SkyCity Convention Centre fire in October.
A source told Stuff at the time the city's aerial fleet was 'in tatters' and more of the tall trucks could have helped bring the fire under control sooner.
The city’s the newest aerial unit – a truck with a tall ladder, like a cherry picker – was under repair due to cracks in the chassis at the time of the SkyCity Convention Centre fire.