KEY POINTS:
Two Fonterra milk tankers caught fire at the company's Te Rapa, Hamilton, site this morning, spilling diesel and sparking fears of an environmental hazard.
However, Environment Waikato said the impact of the spill on the Waikato River was expected to be minimal.
The fire started in the cab of one tanker about 5.15am and spread quickly to the second, which was parked right beside it.
A Fire Service spokesman said the fire was "well involved" when fire crews arrived.
Fire staff had used absorbent pads to soak up the diesel spill.
Hamilton fire safety officer Ross Fleet said there was nothing suspicious about the fire, and that it had spread due to the trucks being parked up so close together.
He was yet to establish the exact cause of the blaze.
Environment Waikato resource officer Blair Campbell said a small amount of diesel from the tankers' fuel tanks had run into a storm water drain.
Fonterra had acted quickly and all the diesel was contained, Mr Campbell said.
Diesel, and the water used to put out the fire, was channelled from the storm water drains into an underground interceptor tank.
"We think about 50-60 litres went in there in total and that will be removed using a sucker truck and disposed of safely.
"The company's system is set up so that wastewater flows from the interceptor tank into dispersal ponds and we can see no evidence of any diesel in the ponds, so it looks like all the diesel has been caught."
Mr Campbell said it was not anticipated any downstream water takes would be affected.
- NZPA
