Firefighters scramble to Placemakers blaze, investigation continues

JULIA WADE

As locals watched and reported across social media, a large team of volunteer firefighters from all over east-Kaipara turned their hoses toward a searing blaze at Mangawhai Heads Placemakers on the night of March 11, fighting not only intense heat but also dangerously flammable product.

Mangawhai Volunteer Fire Brigade (MVFB) chief Rob Leslie was in charge of operations at the fire, with deputy chief Graeme Kerrigan overseeing logistics, and Leslie says fire crews were alerted to the blaze around 9.15pm.

“As the fire was only about 100 metres away from the station, we got onto it pretty quickly… the heat coming from the upper story of the building was amazingly intense,” he says. “I could see the flames coming out of the window before we even got there, so we put in a second alarm call which doubles the number of appliances coming.”

As well as the Mangawhai team, crews from Waipu, Kaiwaka, Maungaturoto and Paparoa answered the emergency call, a total of four firefighting appliances, two water tankers and a taskforce of 30-plus firefighters. As Placemakers stock a large range of flammable product, including methylated spirts, thinners, aerosol cans, batteries for power tools and herbicides, Leslie says the crew had to be aware of a range of hazards, and their first concern was the gas bottles in the outside storage area.

“We made sure that was cooled and kept the fire away from that area. The Placemakers staff were also informing us about the hazards inside, we had to be mindful of all of the product as well as try and put the fire out and keep everyone safe.

“We had it knocked down in 30 minutes… then two breathing apparatus crews could enter the building for 20 minutes at a time for an interior attack. The fire was hiding up in the roof cavity and it took five hours to ensure they got all the hotspots which kept flaring up.”

The fire was contained to the upstairs area of the building with the offices and work counters sustaining major damage, ‘we were lucky to keep it intact really’ with the downstairs work space incurring only water damage.

The Kaipara firefighters left the site at 2.15am for a debrief at Mangawhai Station, and after restocking the appliances with water and hoses, and themselves with pizza, were able to eventually head home around 3am. A couple of crew members also monitored the site overnight, ‘we didn’t get called back so that was a good thing’.

To date, the investigation is ongoing to what ignited the fire and Leslie says ‘it will be a complicated one to ascertain’ due to the many flammable items held on the property.

Although the fire was a challenge, ‘it is what we train for’ and Leslie says it was great to work with the other brigades, ‘we worked seamlessly together’.

“It is good to know everything can go well. We train a lot to prepare for a fire like that but they don’t come around that often, thank goodness, as we don’t want to be putting out fires like that all the time,” he says. “It’s also great to give back to the community who have supported us in funding our new station. Placemakers are a great supporter of ours and have donated a lot of money so it’s almost like payback for their help.”

As for Rob Leslie, who fell into bed around 3.30am only to rise at 5.30am to go to work, ‘but that’s alright’, he says he was lucky enough to be invited to watch the America’s Cup on a launch where there are a number of beds, ‘so might duck in there for a kip’. (I’m sure the community would agree the trip and nap would be well deserved.)

Mangawhai Placemakers site manager Reagan Smith says while he is not able to comment on the fire as yet, he wants to assure the community the store is still open for trading.

The day after the March 11 fire. One side of Placemakers, on the corner of Molesworth Drive and Moir Point Road, was engulfed in flames on the night, the building now left scorched and broken with the cause awaiting investigation. PHOTO/JULIA WADE

“As the fire was only about 100 metres away from the station, we got onto it pretty quickly… the heat coming from the upper story of the building was amazingly intense.”

- Rob Leslie, fire chief