On Monday 20th November a fire in the early hours caused extensive damage to a property on the corner of Riddle Street and Talbot St in Fairlie. We now know that the property contains asbestos which was also damaged in the fire.
High winds yesterday stirred up the residue from the fire and disturbed the asbestos. Because of this potential severe risk to the public, we closed an area based on Riddle Street.
We sprayed water onto the site and surrounding shop fronts, roads and footpaths to damp them down. Filters were put over drains to reduce the potential for particles to enter Council’s stormwater system and they were also placed at the stormwater outflow to prevent any remaining particles going out into the environment.
Today we will start testing to identify the extent of any asbestos contamination in the area around the original site. The results will be back either tonight or tomorrow (Saturday) morning.
Today we will also be spraying a polymer substance across the fire site to seal the remaining material.
A cordon will remain in place until further notice, and we ask everyone to obey all signage.
We are working with other expert agencies, FENZ, Te Whatu Ora Health NZ, and today we will continue planning the actions we need to take over the coming days.
Related information about Asbestos
