Tractor fault sets hay paddock on fire in Central Hawke's Bay

Tractor on fire near Otane in Central Hawke's Bay. Photo/Supplied

Plumes of black smoke were seen rising from Central Hawke's Bay yesterday afternoon after a tractor had a mechanical fault and set a hay paddock alight.

Otane Volunteer Fire Brigade chief fire officer John Oliver said the smoke caused firefighters and members of the public to initially think it was a house fire.

"We had a lot of people scream and yell because they thought it was a house. When we came down the road it looked like a house fire because of all the black stuff coming off the tractor. It was good it wasn't a house."

Firefighting services were called to the hay paddock along State Highway 2, near College Rd, at 1.30pm and were still at the scene dampening hotspots just before 4pm.

Mr Oliver said the fire ate into an area measuring 150m by 150m and was thought to be caused by a mechanical fault with the tractor working in the paddock.

"There was a tractor in the middle of the hay paddock and it was thought the fire was caused by the hay rake, but the driver thought it was the tractor."

Appliances and tankers were called in from Tamatea, Waipawa and Otane, he said.

"We actually cut half the hay paddock off to stop it from getting right into the hay paddock. We just hit both sides and the front, and the wind went with us for a little while."

"We got to work on the hotspots from the middle and worked from there. It was lucky it didn't get bigger because there are macrocarpa trees down one side of it and it could have got a lot bigger."

The chief fire officer said despite there being a slight breeze, the surrounding paddocks were fairly green and the fire didn't travel across the road.

"The driver's okay, he jumped out to ring 111, but there's nothing left of the tractor, I can't even see the paint on it. It's starting to get rusty already."

A police spokesperson said police were called to the paddock along State Highway 2, near College Rd, at 2.25pm.

The fire was not suspicious and had been caused by a mechanical fault on a tractor, they said.