• No fire found at Invercargill Prison boiler house
  • Quick action prevented potential crisis
  • Contractor training to be enhanced

Invercargill Prison experienced a brief scare on Monday evening when large amounts of smoke were seen coming from its boiler house. The incident, which took place around 9 PM on April 22, prompted an immediate response from prison staff and local emergency services.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand arrived at the scene within minutes, supported by two technicians from Downer, the maintenance contractors. The investigation led by Daryl Tamati, General Manager of Invercargill Prison, quickly confirmed that there was no fire.

“The smoke was traced back to an error involving a contractor from Downer who inadvertently left the coal auger feed on manual. This resulted in an overfill of coal in the firebox, which did not burn completely, thereby producing an excessive amount of smoke,” explained Tamati.

By 10:15 PM, the situation was under control with Fire and Emergency confirming the safety of the site. “The boiler is now operating normally. Throughout this incident, the situation was confined to the boiler room with no danger posed to the prison or its inhabitants,” added Tamati. The daily operations of the prison were not affected, and there was no need for any prisoner relocations.

In response to the incident, Downer has pledged to improve their operational procedures. “We intend to rerun training with our contractors to ensure the boiler is thoroughly cleaned and checked before leaving the site,” noted Tamati.

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