Visitors to Kaiteriteri got a rather abrupt wakeup call last Friday, 17 April, with a sizeable gas leak at a neighbouring restaurant leading to the campground’s hasty evacuation.
Kaiteriteri’s chief fire officer Jason Everett says that although an official cause is yet to be established, it appears human error meant the wrong valve was operated on a 210kg LPG gas bottle at Waterfront restaurant, causing what he describes as a “fairly significant gas leak”.
The alarm was raised at about 7am, with staff acting quickly to contact emergency services.
The cold morning meant the gas cloud was clearly visible.
“It was like a fog rolling around down the driveway,” Jason says.
He explains that because LPG is heavier than air, it settles in low-lying areas, including basements and drains.
There was significant danger from any kind of spark, including a cigarette, light switch or car engine, so “we were very desperate to make sure that no one moved anything”.
Power was isolated, and the campground and nearby businesses were cordoned off.
“Our goal was obviously to minimise the risk of it spreading,” Jason says.
The response involved 10 appliances from Māpua, Upper Moutere, Motueka and Nelson, with Richmond standing by from Motueka.
The Nelson brigade later posted on social media that crews used a firefighting tactic known as a coordinated water protection technique to manage the threat posed by the estimated 110 cubic metres of leaked gas.
The technique involves firefighters using “two large fire hoses holding cone-spray patterns working in unison side by side with an officer in between who will isolate the valve”.
Once the gas cylinder was isolated, crews used gas detectors in surrounding areas, including drains and basements, to ensure the site could be left with no risk to the public.
Sea breezes helped disperse the gas, and by about 10.30am the scene was declared safe, allowing roads to reopen and people to return to their campsites.
Nelson’s team also offered thanks to the many crews “who worked to keep everyone safe and minimise the chance of a massive action movie style explosion at Kaiteriteri”.
