Toxic inferno in Hastings

Fire fighters attempt to control the massive Hastings blaze. Picture / Hawke's Bay Today

A toxic inferno that could be seen for 25km caused the evacuation of 70 Hastings houses and had Hawke's Bay hospitals on high alert yesterday.

Trees 30m from the massive blaze burst into flames, three houses were ablaze and a van parked nearby twisted into ashen metal as the fire was fanned by strong winds that caused havoc around the lower and mid-North Island.

One onlooker said the flames were five storeys high, and others described fireballs leaping from the towering plumes of toxic black smoke.

Emergency services were investigating the cause of the fire at the factory, which contained oil and cleaning products that were mostly sold in bulk containers.

"The biggest danger we've had would have to be the severe health risk from the smoke, and then we've got the firefighting water runoff which we've had to contain on the side of the road and the regional council is disposing of that," said senior firefighter Mike Hurley.

The Fire Service said last night it would not know the various chemicals that had been involved in the fire until they had spoken to the company's management today. The cause of the fire was not known.

V J Distributors director Peter Geor would not elaborate on the chemicals, but he said they were everyday cleaning products.

"A lot of the products are what you would find in the supermarket..."

Hastings resident Paul MacPherson watched as the flames broke out at the warehouse in Frimley just before noon yesterday.

He said heat blew out the front windows of the building just as emergency services were arriving. "It was just plumes of black smoke - and it stunk like anything."

Across the road, neighbour Peter Fredsberg heard the explosions. "I called the police and I said 'there's a war going on here'."

Fifteen fire trucks, an aerial unit and 80 firefighters battled the inferno at the Omahu Rd site, which threatened businesses nearby.

Workers were inside the building when the fire began but authorities said no one was injured.

Mr Fredsberg was one of a handful of people taken to hospital. While he escaped unscathed, his property did not; a singed tree and broken window were evidence of how close the blaze came.

Mr MacPherson, whose home was evacuated, said the strong wind fanned the flames, transforming the burning building into a funnel.

"There were trees that were probably 25-30m from the front of the building, just bursting into flames."

Fearing toxic fumes, police went door-to-door evacuating people from dozens of houses downwind from the fire.

Mr Hurley said the thick, black smoke caused by the burning oil inside the building had been the biggest danger to the public.

Drains around the site were blocked off and water was pumped away in an effort to minimise the risk.

The fire was the second major blaze in Hastings in a week. Police are still investigating last Tuesday's suspected arson at Hastings Intermediate School.

The strong wind that hampered firefighters' efforts also caused havoc around the North Island yesterday.

Sailings of the Interislander ferry were cancelled because of huge swells in Cook Strait, and the high winds lashed the coast from Tolaga Bay down to Kaikoura.

In Taupo, the international Ironman competition was cut short and the swim abandoned because the lake was so choppy.

The cycle race was halved to 90km and the run was reduced from 44km to 22km.

"It was terrible," said Invercargill man Sid Cunning.

"They could have waited another day..."

-HERALD ON SUNDAY