New Plymouth scrap metal yard fire continues to burn

Twelve fire trucks attended the fire last night, including two water tankers, a command unit and incident support unit. Photo / File

Firefighters are expected to continue fighting a fire that started at a New Plymouth scrap yard yesterday evening for most of today.

Fire communications shift manager David Meikle said fire crews were still in attendance at the Molten Metal scrap yard, but had been scaled down.

"It's just a matter of going through the large pile of scrap metal and extinguishing any remaining fire," Meikle said.

The fire was caused by a crane hitting power lines which caused sparks to ignite scrub at the scrap yard.

Although the crane driver was trapped in his vehicle for some time, Meikle said he did not believe the driver was in any danger.

Meikle said the advice to residents to stay inside and away from the area remained, but added there were no public health and safety concerns.

"There is no danger to the public at all," he said.

The fire had died down considerably, Meikle said, but he expected crews to be involved for most of the day.

A police spokeswoman said the circumstances of the incident were still unclear, and no charges had been laid as yet.

Last night, 12 fire trucks attended the fire, including two water tankers, a command unit and incident support unit.

People watching the fire had been told to leave and go home by the New Plymouth Fire Service as the smoke from the fire could be toxic.