Asbestos warning after fire
Asbestos has been found at the scene of a fire in central Wellington that engulfed and destroyed a two-storey commercial building.
A Wellington City Council spokeswoman said ‘‘given the fire was so large and there are strong winds’’, public health officers were advising residents around the Wigan St building to avoid dust and to wash their cars with a bucket of water, due to the presence of the ‘‘hazardous material’’.
‘‘Residents in the area are not to touch anything or shake anything with dust on it.’’
The damaged building housed photo-imaging company INK Digital, and will have to be demolished, possibly along with the adjoining Zaida’s bakery, which was believed to have the same owner.
The spokeswoman said the council and Greater Wellington Regional Council were attempting to make contact with the owner.
Street cleaners have also been told they cannot clean the area until the asbestos has been removed.
Fire investigators are still trying to find a cause for the inferno, which broke out about 1.30am yesterday. No injuries were reported, except for one firefighter who sustained minor injuries unrelated to the blaze.
Wellington Fire Station officer David Miller said crews had dampened the asbestos to ensure it did not become airborne before the material was cleared from the area.
Public health officers have said the site is at a ‘‘worksafe standard’’. Miller said power and water to the site had been shut off in preparation for the building’s demolition.
A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesman said their investigations were not complete but there had been no reports, at this stage, of the blaze being suspicious.
Fire crews worked for about an hour to get the blaze under control in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Flames had largely destroyed the building, and firefighters had left the scene so that Wellington City Council could help organise its demolition.
Four fire engines as well as six specialist and support appliances were sent to the scene.
The Dominion Post photographer Robert Kitchin, who took images and video from a nearby vantage point, said some of the flames were leaping about nine storeys’ high.
The inner-city resident said loud ‘‘popping’’ sounds and ‘‘a bright orange glow’’ had initially caught his attention. ‘‘[I] saw the flames shooting through the roof at the back of the building.’’
The entire Wigan St building was ablaze within about 10 minutes, as people banged on the doors of nearby homes to tell occupants to evacuate. ‘‘The whole place was just totally engulfed in flames.’’
INK Digital is a multi-dimensional printing company that is believed to have worked on intricate printing projects for companies such as Weta Workshop.
It is understood the company employs about eight people. It was based in Marion St, in the central city, before its premises there were condemned after last November’s Kaiko¯ ura earthquake.