Firefighter dies, seven seriously injured, in deadly blaze
April 16th, 2008 Posted in Pet Pictures
In chaotic scenes, bloodied and blackened firefighters were dragged from the fire and lay on the ground as locals raced to help them.
The dead firefighter was last night named as senior duty officer Derek Lovell.
Late last night Waikato fire chief Roy Breeze paid tribute to the husband and father, who had been in the service for 25 years.
Were all really trying to cope with it. He was a senior officer with us both in service and in rank. Everyone knew of him, Breeze told the Sunday Star-Times.
Lovell was in one of the first two crews on the scene after fumes had been reported at the coolstore.
Breeze said there appeared to be nothing showing and they were treating it as a simple gas leak when there was a huge explosion.
That explosion took out both crews. All eight people. When the next appliance arrived there was only one man still standing.
Breeze also paid tribute to the local residents, including some doctors and surgeons who were at a nearby party.
They resuscitated Derek at the scene.
The off-duty medical staff raced to the hospital. Every specialist went to try and help out.
Breeze said the news that one of their colleagues had died had affected the firefighters still trying to tackle the blaze after midnight. Im amazed that Ive still got firemen here. Some of them were still trying to cover gas cylinders to protect the public and I had to send them home.
The blast, thought to have been caused by several LPG gas canisters exploding in refrigerators at Icepak Coolstores in Devine Rd, ripped through the building, shocking residents. Richard Gilkison, was driving past when shockwaves from the explosion rocked his car.
He arrived seconds later to see a firefighter getting CPR. All had burns on their faces and hands, skin coming off their hands and faces. I looked down on their burnt, blood-covered faces and thought, theyre f***ing heroes.
Lovell had been caught in the blast and propelled a distance, said Firefighters Union spokesman Boyd Raines. He suffered multiple cardiac arrests at the scene and died in Waikato Hospital around 11pm. The troops here have only just been told, Raines told the Sunday Star-Times last night.
Their reaction was one of distresss call it what you will. Relatives were called to hospital as Lovells condition worsened, including his mother, who lives in Coromandel.
Lovell, who had worked in Auckland before moving to Waikato, was also described by a colleague as a much-respected firefighter.
In 2006 he appeared in a firefighters calendar to raise money to fight child cancer.
This is the was the worst firefighter casualty toll since the 1984 Auckland ICI fire which killed one fireman and left others battling chemical poisoning.
The firefighters, who were all first treated at Waikato Hospital, suffered burns to their face and hands and some abdominal injuries.
The two critically ill men, one aged 37, one 43 were last night having emergency surgery. The 43-year-old, who suffered 60% burns, was late last night flown to Middlemore Hospitals burns unit in Auckland once his condition had stabilised.
Three seriously injured firemen, two aged 51 and one 35, were being treated in Waikato Hospitals high dependency unit. A 36-year-old was stable in the hospitals plastics and burns unit, and one, aged 33, was discharged yesterday afternoon.
Alf Steel, who lives 25 metres from the coolstores buildings, said several windows in the back of his house were blown out by the explosion.
I was just sitting at my desk and there was a thunderous bang, I didnt know what the hell it was.
The windows were blown out on that end of the house. We just locked up and went to our neighbours. I saw one firemen and his clothes were burning.
The fire, which started about 4pm, was last night still blazing out of control because of inadequate volume of water from the non-reticulated supply. Explosions continued at the site during the night, and although 80-90 firefighters were on the scene to stop the blaze spreading, the fire service said it would have to burn itself out.
As thick clouds of smoke filled the air, locals were warned to stay inside, take in their washing, lock up their pets and call 111 if they suffered any respiratory symptoms.
But Waikato medical officer of health Felicity Dumble said the blaze was not toxic and people should not panic when they found their houses and cars blanketed in black soot.
Its more of a nuisance than a threat to humans. As the main fuel of the fire is cheese, we are dealing with a very severe barbecue-type fire, with very black sooty, greasy smoke.
Breeze said the firemen all from the same crew were injured in a huge explosion when they kicked in the door to one of the three cooler buildings, two of which were filled with cheese. They were responding to an emergency call after fumes were reported coming from the building.
Injured firefighters were carried into the grounds of the neighbouring Tamahere School where they were doused with water or hosed down by parents and other helpers who had been attending a gala. Ten doctors and nurses at the school fete were on the scene within a minute to assist the firefighters.
Boyd Raines, secretary of the Professional Firefighters Union northern branch, said the injured men were experienced, popular firefighters who were doing their best to serve the community. Their wives and families were hugely distressed, he said.
Raines last night said the union was calling for an immediate increase in the number of fire appliances sent to private fire alarm and privately monitored alarm callouts to ensure the safety of all firefighters.
The blaze caused massive traffic jams on SH1, Airport Rd and Tauwhare Rd as people who saw the smoke visible from Hamilton drove towards it.
Another neighbour, Gail Jones, said the flames were reaching 50 feet into the air. I thought the middle had blown out of my kitchen it was an unbelievable boom.
Paul Clark said he heard an almighty explosion from his house 3km away. The house seemed to vibrate, then there was an unearthly silence, he said.
Another resident Keith Marshall, who lived about 300m from the fire, saw the firemen being carried from the scene with their clothes burnt or blown off them.
There was a huge plume of smoke, you could see it from bloody Auckland probably.
Icepak director Jayjay Vanedon said the cool store had 24 rooms in four buildings all of which were devastated.
None of his seven staff were injured. The polystyrene coolstore was full of cheese, butter and ice-cream, stored mainly for Fonterra.
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