KEY POINTS:
Icepak has confirmed it is among those charged yesterday in relation to the Waikato coolstore explosion that killed senior station officer Derek Lovell and seriously injured seven other firefighters.
The Department of Labour laid the charges in the Hamilton District Court, but would not give details of the defendants.
But Paul Hemsley, a public relations consultant hired by Icepak Group, owner of the Tamahere coolstore which exploded on April 5, said charges had been laid against the company.
It was taking legal advice and could not comment further, Mr Hemsley said.
Charges have been laid under the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 and related regulations. The act sets out duties of employers regarding the safety of employees and others in and around the workplace.
The most serious charge - breaching the act knowing such a breach was likely to cause serious harm - carries a maximum penalty of a $500,000 fine and/or a year in jail.
The Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act carries a maximum penalty of three months' jail and/or a $500,000 fine for failure to comply with regulatory controls applying to hazardous substances.
Department of Labour Waikato manager Ona de Rooy said the next stage of the department's investigation would be to look at possible changes to industry practice that might prevent such an accident happening again.
The Fire Service issued its report on Tuesday, after an inquiry of almost six months into the fatal blaze.
The 155-page report said it was not clear whether the coolstore had fully complied with requirements to manage and use flammable refrigerants.
It said Mr Lovell's Red Watch crew responded to the callout without knowing that the refrigerant Hychill Minus 50, which is 95 per cent propane and highly flammable, was used at the site.
The facility did not display any hazardous substances warning signs, did not appear to have a gas stenching agent to warn firefighters of a leak, had no compliant fire detection or protection systems or hydrants and very limited firefighting water.
But Hychill said all its refrigerant products were odourised and could be smelt at levels far below a flammable concentration.
Neither the Fire Service, the Waikato District Council (which is the land-use authority and rural fire authority) nor a Government agency which gave Icepak a grant to test the same propane gas at its Waharoa coolstores, knew Hychill had been used at the Tamahere plant since 2003.
The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (ECCA), which promotes sustainable energy, paid Icepak 85 per cent of a $60,800 grant to test propane at its Waharoa plant.
Chief executive Mike Underhill said it would have been helpful had ECCA been told Icepak's Tamahere site was already using the refrigerant, but it would not have changed the decision to award the grant.
After the disastrous explosion at Tamahere, Icepak switched its Waharoa plant to freon gas and the trial was put on hold.
Fire Hazard
* The coolstore used a highly flammable refrigerant which is 95 per cent propane.
* It did not display any hazardous substances warning signs.
* It did not appear to have a gas stenching agent to warn firefighters of a leak.
