Four firefighters have been taken to hospital as a precaution after a shipping container containing insect repellent caught fire in west Auckland this afternoon.
Northern Fire Communications shift manager Jaron Phillips said the insect repellent contained the chemical dimethyl phthalate, but it is not known whether the firefighters were affected by it or were suffering from heat exhaustion when they were taken by ambulance to North Shore Hospital.
Exposure to dimethyl phthalate can irritate the eyes, nose and throat, according to the United States' Environmental Protection Agency.
The shipping container caught fire after a controlled rubbish fire on Deacon Rd, in the suburb of Riverhead, went wrong about 3pm. No properties were at risk and more than two dozen firefighters had the fire under control by 6.30pm.
