Five years ago the Icepak coolstores at Tamahere exploded, killing a fireman, injuring seven others and scarring a community. Philippa Stevenson, a Tamahere resident and journalist, reflects on the tragedy and asks whether it could happen again.

Tamahere Model Country School’s annual Pumpkin Night, held a week ago, was a delight.

As one Pumpkin Night follows another it feels like nothing changes.

But some things certainly need to change. Because Pumpkin Night five years ago ended before it began with a black mushroom cloud blasting and boiled into the sky, taking a life and changing the course of many others forever.

Growing calls for a corporate manslaughter charge in the wake of the CTV building collapse in Christchurch and the Pike River mine disaster coincide with the fifth anniversary of the fatal Tamahere fire – where a plea was also made for stiffer law.

This week, Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson said he may pursue a law change allowing corporate manslaughter charges in cases like the CTV building collapse in the second earthquake in February 2011, in which 115 people died.

The move was welcomed by Labour’s Justice spokesperson Andrew Little, who has a member’s Bill in Parliament’s ballot that creates a crime of corporate manslaughter.

Dairy giant Fonterra has settled a claim against companies in the Icepak coolstore group for the loss of $25 million of cheese in the 2008 Tamahere fire that claimed the life of a firefighter.

The case was settled last October in a confidential out-of-court settlement.

In January 2011, Fonterra was given permission to sue the owners of the Tamahere coolstore, Icepak Group Ltd.

More regulation is needed to prevent a recurrence of the Tamahere Icepak tragedy, says a leader in the refrigeration industry.

“We need more regulation to prevent similar tragedies,” says Rob Morgan, chair of the Climate Control Companies Association. “What is in place is little known and insufficient.

“There is licensing for many trades, including plumbers, roofers and electricians; the person who fills up your gas bottle at the petrol station needs to be an approved HSNO filler, but anyone can install flammable refrigerants into a large system.”

Just two weeks short of the fourth anniversary of the tragic Icepak Coolstores explosion Hamilton Coroner Peter Ryan has released his findings on the death at Tamahere of senior firefighter Derek Lovell.

Derek Lovell, 49, died of traumatic injuries from an explosion on April 5, 2008 at the Devine Rd coolstore facility when he and seven other firefighters responded to a fire alarm triggered by a major leak of highly flammable LPG refrigerant.

Following an inquest held over three-days in September 2011 the Coroner made a number of recommendations designed to prevent further deaths occurring in similar circumstances.

An engineer has slammed the refrigeration industry for a lack of standards that he says allows virtually anyone to install a refrigeration system without any monitoring.

Brian Jackson, a professional engineer and member of the Institute of Refrigeration, Heating and Air Conditioning Engineers, gave evidence at the inquest into the death of senior firefighter Derek Lovell at Tamahere in 2008.

An Icepak director told an inquest into the death of a firefighter it was unlikely the company would ever use hydrocarbon gas in the future.

Wayne Grattan made the comment during a coroner’s inquest into Hamilton Senior Station Officer Derek Lovell’s death at Tamahere in April 2008.

An inquest into an explosion at Icepak Tamahere that killed a senior firefighter and injured several of his colleagues has heard how the plant had ongoing problems – including a major gas leak – just months before the fatal blast.

The inquest into the death of senior firefighter Derek Lovell opened in Hamilton today more than three years after he died and has been widely reported.

Meyer Gouda, a small family-owned Dutch cheese business, lost $200,000 worth of stock in the 2008 Icepak fire at Tamahere.

Losing 46% of their annual production was a crisis for the family business but one it has overcome in style three years on.

Meanwhile, the inquest into the death of fireman Derek Lovell in the Icepak explosion is set to begin next Monday (September 5).

Firefighter Merv Neil yesterday received a New Zealand Bravery Decoration from the Governor General for his actions during the explosion at Icepak Coolstores in 2008.

Following the explosion on April 5 three years ago, Neil, though burned over 73% of his body, was aware of developing danger for his Fire Service colleagues and Tamahere rescuers alike but quietly and professionally took charge of the situation and led people away from the danger area.

For his actions at Tamahere, Neil was yesterday awarded a New Zealand Bravery Decoration at Government House.