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The blast which killed firefighter Derek Lovell and injured six others was similar to a bomb explosion in Iraq, a Waikato surgeon says.
Waikato Hospital's director of trauma, Grant Christey, said the five firefighters were "doing reasonably well" but all were exhibiting blast injury syndromes.
He said a rough calculation of the speed of the blast wave was about 2000km/h.
"That was the blast pulse that hit these firefighters followed by a superheated gas wave that would have blown all the exposed skin and clothes off. They have exhibited lung injuries, ear injuries, eye injuries which are consistent with blast injuries."
Mr Christey said many also suffered burns to their exposed faces and hands. "A lot have concussion injuries, which will cause deficits in their ability to concentrate," he said.
Doctors who gave first aid at the scene, many of them from a nearby gala function, took huge risks.
"There's no guarantee having had one explosion that you are not going to get some more, so that was an incredibly brave move by ... everyone who went to help, and there were plenty."
The doctors first on the scene helped ambulance officers to give life support to at least one firefighter and helped to assess other injured people, Mr Christey said.
"They came in well packaged and in the correct order so that the emergency department could receive them, so that the process was orderly but done very quickly."
- NZPA
