Firefighters warned management about Auckland trucks which broke down at blaze

Saturday, 5 September 2020

A large fire at a campervan business near Auckland Airport broke out on September 3,2020, destroying an office and workshop. Two of the trucks broke down on arrival.

Auckland firefighters warned management about a litany of issues with two ageing trucks before they both broke down on arrival at a blaze on Thursday.

In one case, the wheels locked on a truck brought in to cover a newer model, causing it to skid sideways into oncoming traffic, an email shows.

Two career firefighters were left without water and forced to beat a retreat after their pump failed at Auckland campervan yard THL Rentals shortly after 5am.

Crews from Māngere and Onehunga stations were the first deployed to the fire, on Richard Pearse Dr near Auckland Airport, which eventually engulfed a workshop and several campervans.

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The charred remains of a Maui camper at the rear of the yard. The fire started inside the workshop.

At the peak of the blaze 19 fire engines were on scene. Its cause remains unknown.

A crew from Māngere arrived at the yard shortly after 5am on Thursday aboard a 24-year-old Scania truck, in use because newer MAN pumps were pulled for repairs after cracks were found.

It is believed the throttle cable linking the engine to the water pump broke on the truck, termed a relief appliance as it is relieving for a newer model.

The truck from the Onehunga fire station also experienced difficulty with its pump on arrival, and was also a relief appliance.

Both fire stations were due to receive their repaired appliances the day the blaze broke out, said Richard Twomey, Fire and Emergency NZ (FENZ) Auckland city area manager.

A July 19 email obtained by Stuff sent by an Onehunga officer, whose name is redacted, to Twomey, said fire crews and the public were being placed in danger by the ageing appliances.

The crews at his station had been repeatedly swapped between appliances due to breakages and faults, the officer said.

“Many hours of duty time have been lost over that time which creates a loss of coverage to the public each time.

“The duty appliance at times has been out of service for most of a shift.”

The old appliances lacked modern safety features like modern suspension or anti-lock brakes, leading to a frightening near-miss.

“Some of the drivers have never driven appliances without these functions and I have had one near miss accident with an appliance locking the real duals which caused the vehicle to slide sideways into oncoming traffic.”

The constant faults with the appliances made the officer wary when selecting tactics out of the fear of a failure when his crews were inside a burning structure.

That fear would come to pass at the caravan yard fire less than two months later.

“The relief fleet is tired and not fit for purpose.

The blaze eventually engufled a workshop and several campervans, as LPG bottles exploded and flames lashed the dawn sky.

“At some point luck, and that is all it is, will run out and someone will be injured or worse.”

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Another email, from an officer at Māngere station to FENZ management, painted a similar picture.

“I understand the situation is difficult given the number of trucks pulled from the road but what we are currently using falls well below the standard we require as a professional brigade to respond appropriately to the needs of our job,” they wrote.

The email listed 22 separate issues with the station’s relief truck.

Among the issues was that the cab was so loud while the siren was operating crews could not communicate en route to a call, along with several problems with the high-pressure hose.

The Scania relief appliance which broke down shortly after arrival on Thursday at the Ōtāhuhu repair workshop used by Fire and Emergency NZ.

“What is the plan to provide Māngere with something more fit for purpose given that we are likely to be without our truck for a number of months?

“We require the necessary tools to do our job effectively and the current situations falls far from our ability to do that.”

Twomey told Stuff FENZ would launch an immediate safety investigation, which would cover the circumstances of the pump failures.

FENZ is also to conduct an operation review of the fire, routine with all large blazes, he said.

Thursday's incident is the latest in a string of breakdowns affecting Auckland fire crews.

Concerns about the state of the firefighting fleet came to the fore in the wake of the SkyCity Convention Centre fire in October.

A source told Stuff at the time the city's aerial fleet was “in tatters” and more of the tall trucks could have helped bring the fire under control sooner.

The city’s newest aerial unit – a truck with a tall ladder, like a cherry picker – was under repair due to cracks in the chassis at the time of the SkyCity Convention Centre fire.