That fateful fiery night

The blaze was one of New Zealands biggest. Photo / Herald on Sunday

The blaze was one of New Zealand's biggest.Picture / Herald on Sunday

The call-out to the Icepak coolstore on April 5, 2008 was routine. Eight firefighters from Hamilton were checking out an activated smoke alarm at the Tamahere site..

One of the men noticed a loud hissing noise and found a small pipe leaking gas. Someone went back to the truck to get a crescent spanner to stop the leak.

What happened next was anything but ordinary.

A huge explosion ripped through the coolstore and sent a 2000km/h blast wave through the area. More than 70 firefighters struggled to contain the blaze, one of the biggest in New Zealand history.

Senior Station Officer Derek Lovell was killed by the blast. Merv Neil, David Beanland, Adrian Brown, Brian Halford, Alvan Walker and Dennis Wells were taken to hospital with serious injuries, while Cameron Grylls was also hurt.

More than $40 million of food goods were consumed by the fire.

An inquiry by the Labour Department found the blast was caused by the highly flammable gas Hychill Minus 50 which is 95 per cent propane. The Labour Department, Fire Service and Waikato District Council - which handled building consents for Icepak's Tamahere plant - were all unaware that the gas was being used.

Icepak Coolstore, co-director Wayne Grattan and Mobile Refrigeration Specialists (MRS) were fined $37,200, $30,000 and $56,000 respectively in December 2009 - after Grattan and MRS pleaded guilty to breaches of health and safety regulations.