Major fire on Raglan Wharf

Update 29th April- Raglan Wharf open again for fishers.

Raglan wharf caught fire at about 6.00am this morning. Volunteers from the Raglan Fire Brigade were in the scene first and units from Ngaruawahia and Hamilton were soon called into assist them.  The wharf buildings containing ice making plant for fishing boats, coolstores, Raglan Sea Foods ( a popular source of fish and chips as well as fresh fish) and Raglan Kayaks and the Tony Sly Pottery are totally destroyed. The wharf also houses artifacts in the reserve collection of the Raglan Museum which are irreplaceable.
One of the sheds destroyed is the original wharf building which has recently been recommended by NZHPT as a candidate for heritage protection.   The adjacent shed housing a boat building company where a fibre glass yacht is being built is still standing along with a toilet block. The silo apartments were not affected.  Buildings on the wharf house hazardous chemicals.

One Hazmat unit, one support truck, one snorkel truck and three fire engines were on the scene along with about 40 firefighters.  As a precaution water tankers were called in, but plenty of water was available from the harbour.  No one was directly injured and the fire is not threatening any residential houses.  By 9.00am it was under control with Fire Service staff managing hot spots.  An ambulance is standing by.