It was a case of being in the right place at the right time for experienced firefighter and fire investigator Roy Brickle when a horse float caught on fire.
Brickle said he was returning to Whangārei about 2pm yesterday when he spotted smoke coming from a horse float parked on the side of the road near Golf Rd in Maunu.
He stopped and took a brand new fire extinguisher from his ute and filled the float with foam, extinguishing the fire. However, it kept reigniting. A local resident with a garden hose managed to completely douse the fire. Brickle said a gas bottle feeding a small fridge at the front of the float had caused the fire. A woman had managed to take two horses off the float and was waiting for a friend to come and collect them. Brickle said it highlighted the need to carry an extinguisher in vehicles.
Waipū Highland Games
Planning is well under way for the 148th annual Waipū Highland Games. The games will be held in Caledonian Park, in Waipū, on January 1 and feature all aspects of Scottish Highland games, including the heavyweight competition, piping, dancing and track events. Organisers say the games will go a long way towards building up confidence and prosperity in the town, attracting crowds in excess of 5000. Details: http://www.waipugames.co.nz.
Christmas at the Marae moves
Today's Christmas at the Marae at Otiria Marae in Moerewa has had to move because of two tangi. The event will now take place at the Moerewa Christian Fellowship next to the BP station on Moerewa's main street. The time, 10am-2pm, remains the same, as do the attractions, which include giveaways, a talent show, face-painting, rides, a biggest tuna (eel) competition, egg and spoon races, a giant Jenga game, and a bake-off. Santa is expected to arrive in a Cadillac and pose for photos with the kids on a Harley-Davidson. The tangi at Otira Marae are for Herbert (Chappy) Whittaker Snr, aged 95, and James (Jimmy) Waetford Cherrington, aged 70.
