Remember Tamahere the cool store disaster

Fire in the sky

By Philippa Stevenson

Tamahere Model Country School's Pumpkin Night last weekend was a delight. Families turned out at the Waikato school's yearly fundraiser to be awed by giant pumpkins and the kids' creativity (and no doubt parents) who had fashioned quirky artworks from a range of vegetables. Children rode horses and small, four-wheel motorbikes, jumped on bouncy castles and everyone ate their way through pumpkin soup, pumpkin cookies, burgers and sausages - all paid for with pumpkin money.

Good, family fun. But on Pumpkin Night in 2008, New Zealand etched another name - "the Tamahere fire" - on its roll of tragedy. Another son, husband, father and friend, firefighter Derek Lovell, was added to the list of those who went out to work one day and never came home. Another community was scarred as a gas-fuelled explosion ripped through a rural coolstore and burned for seven days.

It would be comforting to think something had come from the Tamahere fire to prevent such a tragedy from happening again; that it would be safer for people to go about their lives. Possibly it has.

Possibly the slack regulatory system that effectively allowed a bomb to be primed in an industrial plant, metres from a school and homes, has been lightened.

I fear not. I fear the raft of people eager to make change, and the reluctant who were being pressured to do so, have faltered or been overwhelmed. I live across from the Icepak company's site. I felt the blast, watched the horror unfold, met and wept for some of those most deeply affected and did my best to work for change, with many others, to have something good come from the awfulness.

Remember Tamahere

To the Editor, IRHACE Journal

I was deeply concerned to read the article of non-compliant flammable refrigerant systems in the December/January issue of the IRHACE Journal. It is simply not good enough that this is happening.

We must remember the disaster at the Icepak Cool-store at Tamahere on 5 April 2008 and ensure that it doesn’t happen again. One Fireman, Senior Station Officer Derek Lovell, lost his life and seven others received serious injuries. A cool-store of about 4,000m2 was lost, along with all its contents. I represented IRHACE at the inquest into the death of Mr Lovell, and still have all the documentation which makes for very sobering reading.

According to those documents the Fire Service were responding to a signal from a smoke detector when an explosion occurred. Evidence from the investigation suggests that the explosion originated within the plantroom, and it seems almost certain that the origin of the flammable atmosphere in the plantroom was refrigerant that leaked from a loose connection on a small diameter pipe from the compressor discharge line to a pressure switch. The ignition source seems likely to have been electrical, as there were many items of electrical equipment in the plantroom that were not designed to be flameproof.

As noted in the coroner’s report there was wide acceptance of leakage from commercial refrigeration systems at the time, with an industry average of 30% charge per annum. This must fundamentally change. Everyone involved in the design, installation, commissioning or maintenance of a system containing a flammable refrigerant must

do everything they can to minimize the risk of leakage and of ignition if a leak does occur.

I don’t want to create undue anxiety over this issue, or to dissuade people from becoming involved, as it is here to stay. Rather I want to show that it is a major change from established technology and urge everyone to take the necessary steps to upskill accordingly. In concept it has created the need for a gas-fitter’s knowledge and skills to be added to those of a refrigeration engineer, with the added demand of designing for high, fluctuating pressures and temperatures, and vibration.

In practice, those involved need to read and become familiar with all the relevant Standards, guides and rules, and diligently apply them. Comprehensive documentation needs to be prepared for all stages of the work, showing how the requirements have been met. If doubt arises about a particular issue the guidelines in the Journal article should be followed. Throughout the project the customer should be kept fully informed, from design concept right through to maintenance, as it will have a major impact on their health and safety management. Do not be persuaded to cut corners and expect to be well paid for your time and expertise. After all, you are looking after the customer’s best interests as well as your own.

If you want more background information on the Tamahere fire and its aftermath read the article by Philippa Stevenson in the April/May 2013 issue of the IRHACE Journal. A major issue at the time was industry regulation, and hopefully at long last we are close to that happening.

Brian Jackson, IRHACE President 2001 – 2003, Life Member. Relevant qualifications: BE Hons Mech, Chartered Professional Engineer, M. ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigeration & Air Conditioning Engineers), Life Member IRHACE (NZ Institute of Refrigeration, Heating & Air Conditioning Engineers).