Auckland’s largest fire station and only aerial fire trucks are out of action after an asbestos discovery today. Photo / Rebekah Parsons-King
Auckland’s largest fire station and only aerial fire trucks are out of action after an asbestos discovery today. Photo / Rebekah Parsons-King
Auckland’s busiest fire station is out of action after an asbestos discovery today, which a union says could mean dire consequences for Auckland’s fire response.
Martin Campbell of the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union said the deadly substance was discovered after weeks of renovations when the dust had been tracked through the first floor of the accommodation block of the Auckland Central fire station.
That dust was tested and came back positive for asbestos.
Once widely used in buildings, asbestos can cause cancer, asbestosis, and lung scarring.
“Just like we would with any other emergency incident that Fire and Emergency and firefighters would attend, we treated the fire station as a hot zone and a contaminated building,” Campbell said.
“The on-duty crew then had to be decontaminated from the potential asbestos risk that they were exposed to.”
Campbell said unfortunately it also meant the station’s high-ladder fire trucks had to be taken out of service so they could be decontaminated.
“Auckland central fire station is our busiest fire station in the country by far and also, it’s the home of all our high-reach heavy aerial appliances,” Campbell said.
New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union’s Martin Campbell said this could mean dire consequences for Auckland's fire response. Photo / Alex Burton
These are the ladder trucks that respond to incidents that are used to put out major fires.
“It’s also the home of, rather ironically, the hazardous materials unit and the command unit appliance,” Campbell said.
“So as far as I understand tonight, Auckland has no heavy aerial capabilities and it has no hazardous materials or decontamination or command unit capabilities because the other truck that’s located at Otara is also broken down as far as I know.”
He said this was a “real concern” for Auckland’s fire response because the next closest available trucks would be two hours away in Hamilton.
The trucks are used to rescue people from the upper floors of buildings, meaning there was the potential for dire consequences for not only the public but also firefighters, Campbell said.
“They’ll have to do ulterior tactics which will involve having to actually go inside fires, put themselves at risk, and put themselves in danger to try and extinguish a fire from the inside,” Campbell said.
However, later tonight, Fire and Emergency NZ (Fenz) has responded to a fire in an apartment building and said two aerial trucks were battling the blaze.
It is not yet known how widespread the asbestos contamination is, and whether fire crews could have unknowingly been tracking the dust throughout the station during the weeks of renovations.
Campbell assumed there would be proper specialised investigators going in tomorrow, but couldn’t say how long the station would be out of action.
