1 December 2002

Tens of thousands of fire extinguishers endanger New Zealanders’ lives

There are potentially tens of thousands of Halon fire extinguishers throughout the country endangering New Zealanders’ lives, and they should be handed in before there is a fatal accident, John Fraser, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Halon Recycling NZ Ltd said today.

Mr Fraser was commenting on the Government’s Halon fire extinguisher recovery programme launched today.

The Government, Chubb Systems & Services, Wormald Fire Protection and other fire protection service companies are subsidising the destruction of yellow Halon fire extinguishers when people hand them in and buy an approved red fire extinguisher.

People handing in yellow extinguishers will also be offered special prices for new refillable red fire extinguishers.

“Old yellow Halon fire extinguishers are time bombs. Many have corroded and are leaking Halon so are unlikely to work in the event of a fire. The halon is also extremely damaging for the environment,” Mr Fraser said.

“Halon Recycling NZ Ltd is working closely with the Ministry for the Environment and the Fire Protection Industry to ensure yellow extinguishers are collected correctly and transported safely to Australia where they are destroyed in a special incineration plant,” he said.

People can call 0800 HALONHELP for information about participating retailers in their area.

For further information:

John Fraser, Halon Recycling NZ Ltd 09 846 7053, 0274 875 634

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