The Fire Service has apologised to the Corrections Minister for comments it made about the performance of sprinklers during a riot at a Waikato prison.
Anne Tolley. Photo: NATIONAL PARTY
Twenty-nine inmates at Spring Hill Prison an amok for 10 hours in two cell blocks on 1 June, lighting fires and causing more than $1 million in damage.
The Fire Service last week told Radio New Zealand News that the sprinklers were designed only to put out one area of fire at a time and were overwhelmed by the demand from multiple fires.
The service also said that the water pressure would have slowed to a dribble from sprinklers furthest from the water supply.
Corrections Minister Anne Tolley said on Tuesday the Fire Service has apologised that its engineering manager, Simon Davis, spoke out before an investigation into the riot is complete.
Mrs Tolley would not say if the comments by Mr Davis were right or wrong, but there was no need for a more urgent audit of sprinklers in jails.
