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.

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.

Tamahere was put on the world map by the 2008 Icepak tragedy and the aftermath continues to attract global interest.

“A Coronial Inquest into the world’s most severe incident involving hydrocarbon refrigerants in New Zealand has been held recently,” reports hydrocarbons21.com.

Reports provided to this week’s inquest into the death of firefighter Derek Lovell are comprehensive accounts of the events leading up to and on the day of the 2008 tragedy that are not widely known.

The Fire Service released its report in September 2008 but the more detailed Labour Department report into the explosion and fire more than three years ago has been under wraps until now. The reports are available on Tamahere Forum.

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).

The Hamilton Coroner’s inquest into the death of fireman Derek Lovell at Icepak Coolstores at Tamahere is scheduled for a week starting on Monday, September 5.

Its focus will be on avoiding deaths in similar circumstances in the future.

Senior Station Officer Lovell died and seven other officers were seriously injured when leaking gas ignited while they were investigating an automatic fire alarm at the coolstore on April 5, 2008.

The Hamilton coroner will hold an inquest into the death of fireman Derek Lovell who died in the Icepak Coolstore explosion at Tamahere three years ago.

Senior Station Officer Lovell died and seven other officers were seriously injured when leaking gas ignited while they were investigating an automatic fire alarm at the coolstore on April 5, 2008.

Today, the coroner, Gordon Matenga, held a pre-inquest conference to hear from interested parties who wish to give evidence at the inquest.

A coroner’s inquiry into the death of firefighter Derek Lovell is to get underway next month – just days after the third anniversary of his death following the Icepak Coolstores explosion on April 5, 2008.

Coroner Gordon Matenga has convened a pre-inquest conference on April 28 at the Hamilton District Court to determine the inquest’s likely length.

The aim of the conference is to determine whether people who have registered an interest in Derek Lovell’s death with the coroner wish to give evidence at the inquest, including by witnesses.