Man broke leg fleeing suspected P-lab fire

Firefighters at the scene of a suspected P-Lab fire at a property on Meadway in Sunnyhills, Pakuranga. Photo / Brett Phibbs

A man broke his leg trying to escape from police while the house he was in, a P lab, was engulfed in flames.

A Fire Service spokesman said that the Pakuranga house was burning fiercely when firefighters arrived on the scene around midday yesterday but they refused to go inside because of the danger from P chemicals.

The sole occupant of the house, a man in his 40s, broke his leg while trying to escape from police after climbing from a window of the burning house, police spokeswoman Ana-Mari Gates-Bowey said.

The man, who also suffered cuts and burns, was taken to Middlemore Hospital and firefighters, ambulance staff and police had to go through decontamination showers after the blaze was brought under control.

The building had been secured but police would not enter until it had been deemed safe of toxic chemicals, Ms Gates-Bowey said.

No arrests had been made.

The blaze occurred on the same day the Insurance Council announced that the number of insurance claims arising from damage caused to properties being used for the manufacture of methamphetamine was on the increase.

The council estimated the damage had cost insurance companies $5 million-$10 million over the past 12 months.

- NZPA