The investigation continues into a house fire at a duplex on Cotterell Cres, Onekawa, on Friday which caused significant burn damage to the property. Photo / Paul Taylor
Fires tore through Hawke's Bay over the weekend, with two significant house fires in Onekawa alongside the Te Mata Peak fireworks blaze and a number of smaller grass fires.
Police are not seeking anyone furtherin relation to a fire on Te Mata Peak on Friday night, now confirmed to have been caused by fireworks.
Firefighters were called to the renowned Hawke's Bay attraction - which has been the site of several fires started by fireworks in recent years - at about 8.37pm on Friday.
Chris Morris, a witness at the scene, said the fire was spreading fast initially, and had reached 100 metres down the steep eastern slope towards Craggy Range before being brought mostly under control by 9.15pm.
A statement released by Fire and Emergency New Zealand on Saturday said 10 fire trucks battled the blaze, and confirmed the cause was fireworks.
A police spokesperson said a young person is assisting police with their inquiries into the fire, and no-one else is being sought in relation to the incident.
Firefighters attended several additional fires across Hawke's Bay over the weekend, including two significant house fires in Onekawa on Friday night, according to a FENZ spokesperson.
The spokesperson said four crews from Hastings and Napier responded to a house fire in Onekawa, Napier at 4.46pm on Friday, and found a significant fire on arrival.
Napier Fire Station senior station officer Glenn Drew said no-one was injured and fire safety were called to assess the scene.
"Fire crews extinguished it rather quickly, but it did have significant burn damage."
A police spokeswoman said police were advised of the house fire on Cottrell Crescent at 4.55pm on Friday, but were only involved to assist with traffic management.
Fire crews also responded to another house fire at a different address in Onekawa at 9.34pm on Friday.
The fire was described by the FENZ spokesperson as being "well-involved", and they said crew left by 10.30pm.
Three Napier fire trucks responded to a scrub fire on the beach at Awatoto State Highway 51, Napier, at 11.21pm on Friday, and left the scene by 12.39am.
Two Hastings fire trucks responded to a grass fire in Tomoana at 11.29pm on Friday, and had left the scene by 12.02am.
Three crews from Napier and Taradale responded to an alarm activation at a commercial building in Taradale, Napier, where there were reports of a fire in the kitchen at 3.32am on Saturday morning. All crews left the scene by 4.22am.
Fire crews responded to a scrub fire on the side of the road on State Highway 5 at Te Haroto, Hastings at 6.42pm on Saturday, and had all left the scene by 8.41pm.
Three Hastings crews responded to a hedge fire endangering a house in Puketapu, Hastings, at 9.34pm on Saturday, and all had left the scene by 10.36pm.
One Napier truck responded to a fire on the beach at Awatoto, Napier, at 4.59am on Sunday morning, and left by 5.28am.
Further information on those incidents is currently unavailable due to the ongoing industrial action by the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union and the bargaining over the union's collective employment agreement with FENZ, part of which means incident details are not recorded in the FENZ system.
Group manager Gordon Foster said in a FENZ statement that the Te Mata Peak fire was an important reminder for everybody to take care when setting off fireworks for Guy Fawkes.
"Do not light any fireworks if it's too windy. Anything more than a breeze can increase the risk a stray firework could start a wildfire," Foster said.
He said people can check the conditions at www.checkitsalright.nz, and if they are good, then they should ensure they have a safe setup.
"Light them in a wide-open space, away from anything that could catch fire. Point them at the sky, and have a bucket of water or hose nearby," he said.
"You don't want to be the person responsible for starting a fire, damaging property or hurting someone by not being careful with fireworks."