A fire has ripped through a Whangārei laundromat. Video / Da Racoon
A fire that ripped through a Whangārei laundromat and dry-cleaning business caused devastation that looked like a bomb had gone off, according to eye witnesses.
The blaze started around 11.30pm on Wednesday and took firefighters nearly six hours to contain, with a specialty aerial appliance required from Auckland.
The fire which started late Wednesday night impacted Northland Dry Cleaners and Smart Water and Irrigation. Photo / Denise Piper
The fire on the corner of Commerce St and Okara Dr impacted two businesses, Northland Dry Cleaners and Smart Water and Irrigation.
The 50m x 20m building was found “well involved” in fire by the time firefighters arrived.
Assistant fire commander Mitchell Brown said smoke spread from the blaze through Raumanga and Maunu, resulting in public health needing to send out a warning.
At the height of the blaze, six trucks from around Northland were needed to control the fire, involving career and volunteer firefighters.
A speciality fire appliance from Auckland was needed to control the blaze.
An aerial appliance, one of the biggest in the country, was required from Auckland to help reach up and over into the building to put it out, Brown said.
The smoke started to dissipate by around 5am on Thursday morning and the fire was controlled shortly after, although firefighters continued to dampen down hot-spots throughout the morning.
No one was inside the building and no one was hurt in the incident.
One eyewitness, who asked for his name to not be used, said he saw “a massive puff of smoke” from the Whangārei Rock ‘n Roll Club on Riverside Dr at about 11.30pm.
“It looked like a bomb had gone off – it had that little mushroom-cloud effect.”
The fire looked like a bomb, with a mushroom-cloud of smoke and was very hot, an eyewitness says. Photo / Da Racoon
The man and his partner drove closer to get a better look, and saw firefighters already on the scene with more arriving.
They parked by Chemist Warehouse, a reasonable distance opposite the building, but could still feel the heat from the flames.
“It was hot in the car with the windows down. Every now and then you could hear a little bang which shook the car a little bit,” he said.
Another eyewitness, Lynette Li from Hungry Jacks Lunch Bar, said firefighters had closed part of the road when she arrived for work at 4am.
Fire investigators are looking into the cause of the blaze on Thursday, while firefighters continue to stay on guard for hot-spots.
At that stage there was not much smoke around, she said.
But Li is concerned about the workers at the dry cleaners, who launder linen from hospitality outlets from all over Northland.
“It’s a sad story for them. They’re all our customers – the manager was crying,” she said.
“Hopefully insurance will sort them out, it’s very tough for them.”
Li said she understood an older man had been living upstairs but he recently passed away and the dry cleaners was luckily empty.
Fire investigators were on the scene on Thursday and are set to return on Friday to establish how the fire started.
Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.
