Firefighters tame Kinleith blaze

Firefighters tame Kinleith blaze on 16 August 2001, New Zealand's largest paper machine caught fire. Andrew McGregor was engaged to investigate the cause of the fire on behalf of the plant owner, Carter Holt Harvey Ltd.

The cause of the fire was due to a felt roll shaft seizing in its bearing. The shaft sheared off under intense heat and came into contact with hydraulic oil nearby. The oil erupted into a ball of fire and ignited the roof which was totally destroyed. The roof measured some 120m long by 30m wide. This was a large multi-discipline investigation which was managed entirely by Prosolve Ltd. It featured in local newspapers and on TV headline news.