Did you see the blaze?
Email us your comments, photos here
KEY POINTS:
Up to 15 million kiwifruit have been destroyed after a massive blaze at a coolstore and packhouse in Katikati.
Firefighters were called to the Satara kiwifruit coolstore and packhouse, on Wedgewood Street, at 5.15pm.
Satara is a kiwifruit and avocado co-operative with packhouses throughout the upper North Island.
The initial response team found the fire already well established, and backup came from throughout the Bay of Plenty, with between 10 and 12 fire appliances fighting the blaze at its peak.
The fire is now out, and general manager commercial Wes Anderson-Smith spoke to NZPA after a walk through the burnt buildings with firefighters.
Mr Anderson-Smith said the fire had been contained to the coolstore and initial indications were that the building structure was sound.
However, the damage was extensive.
The fire had struck just days after the end-of-season packing of fruit, meaning the coolstore was loaded with kiwifruit.
He said he had not looked at company records, but he estimated there were around 500,000 trays of kiwifruit in the coolstore - with an average of 36 pieces of fruit per tray.
"So it's all that hard work done by our packers and our operators and the growers gone up in flames.
"It's very sad," Mr Anderson-Smith said.
He said a thorough assessment of the damage would be made in the light of day.
He had "no idea" at this stage what had caused the fire, but a fire safety investigation would begin in the morning.
Firefighters would remain at the scene overnight, as would security staff.
- NZPA
