Date: October 17, 2021
Location: Ohakune, Manawatū-Whanganui (New Zealand)
Address: State Highway 49, 4691
Type: Dust Fire
Fuel: Wood Dust
Industry: Pulp Mill (Pulp and Paper)
Equipment: Flash Dryer
Company: Karioi Pulp Mill
Database Incidents: None Recorded
Loss: No Injuries
Capital Cost: Unknown
Status: Open
Confirmation: Unconfirmed
Company Description:
According to its website, the Karioi Pulp Mill is owned by WPI Winstone Pulp International Ltd., the fourth-largest forest owner in New Zealand. The mill employs 116 people, including administrators, and makes more than 220,000 tons of air-dried pine pulp each year for export to the Pacific, Australia and Asia.
Incident Description:
On October 17, 2021, Nzherald.co.nz reported a fire at a pulp mill in Ohakune, New Zealand.
At 10:43 a.m., Fire and Emergency New Zealand received a call that pulp from a flash dryer was smouldering on a mill’s roof. Winds spread the smouldering pulp around and caused lots of little spots.
Volunteer crews from Ohakune, Raetihi, Waiouru and Taihape quickly arrived on the scene. Some of the firefighters are current or former mill employees. Using hoses, they extinguished the smouldering pulp, staying for about two and a half hours to ensure the job was completed.
The building and machinery suffered no significant damage, and no injuries were reported.
Previous Incidents
According to the article covering this incident, fire crews responded to a similar fire at the mill on October 11.
Sources:
Nzherald.co.nz
