KEY POINTS:
A $450,000 state-of-the-art mobile communications centre built for the Fire Service was destroyed by fire yesterday - in a factory with no sprinklers.
Just weeks from being completed, the vehicle prototype was razed during a fire at the Jones Odell Motor Bodies factory in the Auckland suburb of Penrose about 2.35am.
The communications unit was the first of 18 to be built. It was designed to be taken to large fires and used as a command point, with its databank providing valuable information on fire or building structure risks.
Fire Service director of operations and training Paul McGill said the unit was originally destined for Christchurch. "They will have to wait a little bit longer, I'm afraid."
Auckland assistant regional fire commander Dave Neil said sprinklers would have saved the building.
The Fire Service will need to pull down a wall today before it is safe enough for fire inspectors to examine the scene.
- NZPA
