Log truck driver saves family from fire near Kohukohu

A log truck driver spotted flames coming from a shed on rural North Hokianga property. Photo / NZME

A log truck driver saved the day — and possibly a grandfather's life — when he alerted a sleeping family to a fire.

Kohukohu fire chief Neil Matheson said the truckie was on an early-morning run when he saw flames coming from a shed at a property on Kohukohu Rd, near the junction with Mangamuka Rd, about 4.30am on Thursday.

The truckie woke the family then helped them douse the flames with garden hoses.

When the brigade arrived the storage shed, measuring about 2m by 3m, had been destroyed but was mostly extinguished.

The shed was next to a sleepout where the grandfather had been sleeping. The sleepout wall had started charring and would soon have caught alight.

The property was fitted with smoke alarms but Matheson had little doubt the truckie's quick actions had bought the family more time.

''It had the potential to go bad. It could've been a lot worse if the family hadn't been alerted as early as they were.''

The cause of the fire was not clear but it was not being treated as suspicious.