Mood in Tākaka ‘sombre’ after big blaze
The mood in Tākaka was “sombre” after a massive fire early on Thursday morning destroyed an ITM building supplies store, a local community representative says.
But at the same time, there has been an outpouring of gratitude towards the firefighters who saved the town from a “major, major disaster”, said Grant Knowles, the deputy chairperson of the Golden Bay Community Board.
At the peak of the blaze, close to 40 firefighters were on the scene, which was attended by 12 units, mostly trucks and tankers. The fire completely destroyed the main building at the ITM site.
Knowles said he was told that three minutes was all that stood between the fire getting away at PGG Wrightson next door, where the building was “full of chemicals and fertilisers”.
He predicted that the loss of the store would have a major impact on builders and that materials would have to be sourced from over the hill.
However, the community was rallying, and many locals with trailers and tow bars had offered to ferry supplies, he said.
Knowles said Golden Bay locals had “incredible empathy” for what had happened.
The community is feeling it deeply,” he said. “Even the visitors have said how sad they are to see it.”
Golden Bay ward councillor Celia Butler said the fire was a shock. Locals were breathing a sign of relief, she said – first that no-one was killed, and second that closely situated buildings did not also catch fire.
Frank Byrne, the owner of Tākaka-based Frank Byrne Builders, told Stuff he believed the ITM business would be up and running again next week “in some form or another” by pulling supplies from the co-operative’s other stores over the hill and setting up a temporary shop on the site.
Byrne said the first few months of the year tended to be quiet for builders.
“While it’s very tragic for them, in all honesty, it’s probably the better time,” he said.
There were initial concerns that water runoff from the firefighting effort might have been contaminated with toxins from the building.
However, an inventory of stock showed that only relatively small volumes of paints and associated products were burnt, the Tasman District Council said in a statement.