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.”

Firefighter Merv Neil, severely injured in the fiery explosion at the Tamahere Icepak Coolstore, in 2008, is one of 31 people honoured with a New Zealand Bravery Award today.

His sight blurred by a 2000 km/h blast wave, his hair burned off and clumps of his smouldering skin hanging from his fingers, firefighter Merv Neil was a burned and bloodied mess.

But despite the burns to 71 per cent of his body, he carried on, thinking his mates were in a worse state.

The honours system has got it wrong again. If the heroism of all the people caught up in the terrible events at Tamahere are not acknowledged soon, it will be a complete travesty.

National recognition for firefighters and members of the public who risked their lives during the April 2008 Tamahere coolstore explosion are almost certainly on the way – but details are not yet being made public.

There may be no independent inquiry into the Icepak Coolstore disaster that killed fireman Derek Lovell and injured seven colleagues.

A year after the catastrophic explosion and fire at the Icepak coolstore at Tamahere and while still recovering from his injuries, fireman Merv Neil has grabbed the chance to burn up the race track.

The Department of Labour has laid nine charges relating to the April 5 Tamahere coolstore explosion and fire.

The Icepak coolstore blast and fire is high on the agenda of the NZ Cold Storage Association annual conference in Wellington this week.

The New Zealand Fire Service Commission’s report into the fatal explosion and fire at the Icepak coolstore in Tamahere, released today, is damning of authorities and the company.

The Tamahere community is invited to a public presentation of the Fire Service report on the fatal Icepak fire at the Tamahere community hall at 3pm tomorrow (Tuesday, September 23).