Workers in limbo after blaze guts sawmill

Ten sawmill workers are in limbo after their workplace was gutted by an overnight fire near Reporoa.

Three fire appliances remained at the scene yesterday morning at Vanner Mill on Mangamingi Rd.

The fire area was up to 400sq m and 10 crews from Rotorua and Taupo fought it after the first emergency call at 8.30pm on Wednesday.

It took two hours for crews to get the blaze under control and begin dampening down hotspots, with one crew remaining on watch overnight.

The mill owner, who did not want to be named, saw the fire from his house next door and immediately ran to the scene.

He said all of the machinery and the main part of the mill were destroyed and nothing in the burnt areas was salvageable.

When asked if the mill was insured the owner said he would “rather not answer that”.

He said the mill employed 10 permanent staff.

“I have not met with them yet but I have told them to stay home until Monday at this stage.”

The owner said the mill’s fire response systems and health and safety procedures were up to scratch.

“We have a pretty stringent set-up. The fire went up too quickly for our facilities to stop it though.”

A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesman said there was no obvious cause of the blaze at this stage.

An investigator was at the scene on Wednesday night and returned yesterday.

Taupo assistant area commander Richard Anastasi said the owners had been very cooperative, but it was a “tragedy” for the workers.

He said the investigator had not found anything suspicious. “It was more than likely accidental.” — Rotorua Daily Post