On Saturday the 5th April, a huge blaze in Tamahere rocked Hamilton, and killed senior officer Derek Lovell, who was standing next to the fire engine driver at the time of the explosion. The two of them were injured, but Cameron Grylls was discharged from hospital after a few hours.
The blaze was one of the largest fires that New Zealand had ever seen, with smoke two kilometres in the air, and flames that could be seen twelve kilometres away.
The fire fighters were sent to the Icepac building in Tamahere, and were told by a key holder that they could kick down the door just before the explosion.
The Icepac building contained a lot of cheese, and had a lot of polystyrene to aid insulation in it.
It is now thought that the building contained liquid propane gas (LPG), which is highly flammable.
One fire fighter who was in intensive care in Auckland, was believed to have saved his life by shielding his face with his arms.
Tamahere School, which was a neighbouring property of the Icepac cool store, had a ‘pumpkin gala’ on which started about ½ an hour before the explosion.
They had to evacuate the school.
Tamahere School hosted the fire fighters in their hall, and gave them food that got left behind when they had to evacuate.
Derek Lovell’s funeral was on Friday the 11th of April, almost a week after the fatal blaze in Tamahere started.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
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