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Milldale fire triggers call for review
The NZ Professional Firefighters Union has asked Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) to conduct an operational review following the devastating fire in Milldale, Wainui, on February 19.
Fire crews at the scene of the blaze on Lees Street. Photos, Nicola Hall.
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The union has raised serious concerns that fire service resourcing and urban design issues may have contributed to the fire’s rapid spread. The blaze totally consumed the Lees Street property, significantly damaging two of the neighbouring houses and scorching the fence of the rear property. Although investigations are ongoing, initial findings suggest a charging motorbike battery (non-EV) triggered “an unspecified electrical event” in the garage, igniting the fire, which then spread to the main house. Union national vice-president, Martin Campbell, said it was concerning that the fire spread quickly across property boundaries and called for FENZ to investigate if the building designs of new developments were contributing to this. Silverdale Fire Station Senior Station Officer, Steve Robinson, who attended the Milldale incident is also concerned that it could happen again. “We attended another house fire in December, which I’m sure would have had a similar result if there hadn’t been a park next door,” he says. “It’s devastating for the people whose house was affected in Milldale, but the houses on either side were also impacted, and the back fence as well. If the wind had been any stronger it could have easily spread to the properties on the road behind. The houses are built close together with a fence in the middle, which is combustible as well.” Another area Campbell has asked FENZ to investigate is continued p2
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