Birds covered in oil following factory fire as employees face uncertain future

The alarm went off as usual at 5.15am and for a moment Amber Marie Whitmore thought it was a normal Monday morning.

Then she remembered about the fire that gutted the workplace she loved.

It was a sad start for Whitmore and 79 other employees of Sutton Tools NZ, Australasia’s largest drill bit manufacturer, after a fire engulfed the Kaiapoi factory on the early hours of Sunday morning.

So ferocious was the blaze that one near-by resident described feeling a heat blast on his face after one explosion.

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By mid-morning Sunday, the devastating scene left many employees shaken and in tears and a toxic leak had local residents equally concerned about a visible impact on the Cam, Kaiapoi and Waimakariri Rivers and their wildlife.

The firm had been operating since 1962 when it was known as Patience and Nicholson and was considered an icon in North Canterbury.

Later in the day, Environmental Canterbury launched a major mopping up operation as they tried desperately to collect and remove an unknown quantity of toxic fluid from the river.

The product, called quenching fluid was designed to rapidly control the cooling of steel or other materials as part of the hardening process.

It entered the rivers via a stormwater system and had caused obvious oiling from Walker Street Bridge downstream to the Waimakairi river mouth.

ECan staff managed to collect and remove product but some escaped and flowed with the outgoing tide.

ECan are continuing to try and clean up the spill, which they estimate could be as much as tens of thousands of litres.

Environment Canterbury regional on-scene commander Emma Parr said the spill was significant with approximately 2000 litres of quenching fluid recovered so far.

Parr said five oiled birds were seen on Sunday and one was captured for a vet assessment.

As part of the team of trained experts in oil spill response, Maritime New Zealand wildlife experts remain on-site to assess and support any wildlife affected by the oil.

“We’re doing all we can to contain and remove any oiled material with several containment and sorbent booms being placed in key areas.

They were also utilising the flood barriers at the Cam/Ruataniaha River to hold water back to enable containment and recovery.

“It is a difficult situation due to the multiple rivers affected and their tidal nature.”

Whitmore has viewed the damage and said not all the factory was gutted with the engineering department and canteen undamaged.

She, like many employees, pitched in on Sunday to help in any way they could but admitted to still being in shock.

Although the buildings and a vehicle suffered extensive damage, Stuff understands some machinery may be able to be salvaged.

Describing the employees as a family, Whitmore said she felt most sorry for the many employees who had clocked between 20 and 40 years service.

One man who had been operating his machine for 21 years was in tears, when he saw the destruction, she said.

Operations Manager Glenn Morgan talked to his Australian bosses yesterday and Stuff understands there may be a possibility of moving to a temporary site in the meantime.

David Miller lives 100 metres from the Sutton Tools factory on Sims Rd and had a front row seat to the Sunday night inferno.

“She was massive,” he recounted on Sunday morning.

Miller described the chaotic scene when emergency services were called to the site at 12.30am on Sunday morning, saying there were “huge” explosions that was followed by a power cut.

No-one was injured in the fire.

Waimakariri district mayor Dan Gordon said the fire was devastating news for Kaiapoi.

Gordon said his thoughts and those of the Council were with the 100 employees and said he had reached out to the factory manager to offer the Council’s support.

“Sutton Tools has been around for 60 years in our community and employed many generations of local families over the years. They are a much valued business in Kaiapoi and to the Waimakariri District.”

Gordon acknowledged the fire crews who worked hard to get the fire under control and praised the council’s civil defence team for an outstanding job in deploying and setting up an evacuation centre.

Waimakariri MP Matt Doocey said Sutton Tools had been a proud local employer in Kaiapoi.

“Today’s news will be a cruel blow to many families who suffered during the devastation of the town in the earthquakes.”

Doocey said he would work with affected employees to ensure they have access any help they might need and will meet with the company later this week to support getting the business up and running again.

Firefighting operations have now finished at the scene of the factory fire on Dale Street, Kaiapoi.

Fire and Emergency District Manager Dave Stackhouse said firefighting operations had finished at the scene, but investigators are still at the scene to investigate the cause and origin of the fire.

Stackhouse said while the investigation was carried out the site would be cordoned off.