Hawk Packaging Fire inquiry starts | Hawkes Bay News | Local News in Hawkes Bay

The owner of the Hastings packaging plant ravaged by an inferno that forced the evacuation of homes and required firefighters from throughout the North Island, said he was never told of official concerns over storage capacity.

Hawk Packaging on Tomoana Road was reduced to smouldering debris on Tuesday night after its third fire in 12 months required 14 appliances and more than 80 firefighters to battle a blaze so large it could be seen from Napier and Waimarama.

There were previous fires at the site in March and October last year.

The owner and managing director of the firm that produced egg cartons and fruit trays, Tim Combs, said he had not received any communication from the Fire Service or Hastings District Council that raised concerns about being over-capacity.

"There has been some speculation in the media that we received a letter from Fire (Service), but we have been here for a couple of years and I am pretty confident that we have never received one," he said.

"We haven't spoken to anyone in the council.

"Until the Fire and Police guys have completed their investigations I don't want to speculate, they have been fantastic and I don't want to get into the situation where they are saying this and I'm saying that.

Hawke's Bay assistant area commander Alan Bamber said Hawk Packaging was warned after two previous fires.

"I can confirm that we had had some contact with the firm to give them advice after a previous fire, but I can't confirm what that advice was."

It was believed that officials had concerns about storage of flammable material at the site.

A Hastings District Council spokesman said it was standard for a council building inspection team and the Fire Service to inspect a site damaged by fire and this had occurred at Hawk Packaging after both previous fires.

"We did raise concerns with them about housekeeping issues," he said.

Council inspectors and the Fire Service were particularly concerned with the accumulation of material close to operating machinery. The issue was raised with Hawk Packaging's site safety officer, he said.

The council had no specific authority in the matter but was aware its concerns had been raised with Hawk Packaging by the Fire Service.

"In the end this sort of issue is the responsibility of the business owner," he said.

Hastings Police Detective Wayne Steed was at the scene yesterday, but said the fire did not appear suspicious.

"The reason [Police] were involved yesterday is because the cause is unknown so we had taken an interest incase it did turn suspicious. But at this stage, we don't know the exact cause."

Fire investigators would continue working at the scene today, and if anything suspicious was found, police would become involved again, he said.

Mr Steed said "on a scale of damage" it was the largest fire he had ever investigated in Hastings.

The ferocity of the fire was reportedly one of the fiercest ever in Hawke's Bay - with fire crews battling throughout the night in heat so intense it melted oxygen masks, caused tyres to start melting and shattered windscreens and blistered paint on fire trucks.

Ash fallout rained down on the region, and was yesterday evident kilometres away throughout Hastings and Havelock North.

Fire Communications shift supervisor Jan Wills said she estimated about 200 calls were made reporting the emergency in a six-hour period. "Between 8pm and 2am we received 259 111 calls, compared with the night before in the same time there were about 40," she said.

"Approximately 200 would have been for [Hawk Packaging], but we were still getting calls at 4am for the smoke and everything."

Hawke's Bay Regional Council were monitoring environmental impacts of the blaze.

Air and Climate Scientist for the council Kathleen Kozyniak said between 8pm and 10pm air pollution rose slightly, but was not a cause for concern.

Mr Combs said no staff would lose their jobs.