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Cause of Whangārei Hospital car park fire revealed
The blaze that damaged dozens of cars in a Whangarei Hospital carpark this afternoon is believed to have been caused by a hot exhaust pipe that ignited long grass nearby.
Fire investigator Jason Goffin said CCTV footage appeared to confirm that.
He said a vehicle had parked near long grass and the hot exhaust pipe appeared to have ignited a fire which spread along a row of parked cars in the strong wind.
The aftermath of the blaze shows the grassy berm that bordered the car parks. Photo: RNZ / Susan Edmunds
Fire and Emergency (FENZ) said the fire has now been contained and they were now dampening down hotspots.
FENZ said they were called to the scene around 2pm and have found both cars and vegetation on fire.
Five fire trucks and about 20 firefighters tackled the blaze, with brigades coming from Onetangi, Portland, Kamo and Whangārei.
FENZ said about 28 cars have been damaged, but could not confirm how many were destroyed.
A doctor at the hospital said flames and thick black smoke could be seen coming from the cars.
She said the fire is well away from the clinical area of the hospital.
The aftermath of the fire at the Whangārei Hospital car park. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf
Janine Cubitt, who was visiting and watching from the fifth floor of a hospital building, said she saw the fire spreading across the vehicles.
“Saw it moving along, started off with two cars, then moved along, there’s gotta be at least 12 to 15 cars involved in it,” she said.
A fire in a Whangārei Hospital carpark has damaged as least 28 cars. Photo: Susan Edmunds
She said she could hear loud popping sounds, and could see things coming out of cars windows and flying up in the air.
Cubitt said there had been a couple of cars that had their fires put out, but later recaught fire.
Health NZ said the hospital remained open and there were no reports of injuries.
Spokesperson Alex Pimm said they were working with emergency services to ensure staff and patient safety.
The affected car park holds about 200 staff vehicles, and people have been unable to enter to retrieve their cars.
Pimm said staff have been offered transportation home.
RNZ
The chief executive of the Parliamentary Service is confident there will be enough room to accommodate the increased number of MPs and their staff coming into Parliament.
On current numbers, up to 131 MPs could be sitting in the Chamber following the election, brought on by a record overhang result.
Clerk of the House of Representatives Dr David Wilson told the Spinoff that currently the debating chamber had enough chairs to seat 124 MPs – including the Speaker of the House – and work was being done to accommodate more by altering the seating arrangement.
In a statement, Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero said planning for a larger Parliament had been going for “some time”.
“Now that the election results have confirmed an increase to the number of members we are looking at several options.
“We are confident we will be able to accommodate all members within the Chamber.”
VNP / Phil Smith
Gonzalez-Montero said office accommodation for members and their staff would be “stretched” for a short time, but the new Members’ Building was only a few months away from “practical completion”.
That building – located behind Parliament – was due to be ready to occupy in April next year and had capacity to accommodate around 30 backbench MPs.
“All members should be in fit-for-purpose accommodation from that point,” Gonzalez-Montero said.
Following the 2023 election, 123 MPs sat in the Chamber – a record number at the time. That decreased to 122 following the resignation of National MP Judith Collins.
Collins held the seat of Papakura and stepped down in May and Parliament voted against holding a by-election because it was too close to the election.
The election result also meant high-ranking National Party MPs like Chris Bishop, Paul Goldsmith, Nicola Willis and Gerry Brownlee – Speaker of the House and an MP for 30 years – would likely not make it back into Parliament.
Only resigning or retiring MPs were permitted to give a valedictory speech meaning none of them would get the chance to give a valedictory statement.
Asked if their would be special allowances for valedictories, Wilson said in a statement that normally only MPs were allowed to speak in the House but the House could suspend its own rules or temporarily alter them.
“It could do so to allow former members to address the House.”
Wilson said no such arrangements could be made until the next Parliament opened and members sworn in.
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