The Kaitaia Fire Brigade didn't get to Te Kao in response to an alarm at 5.30 on Sunday afternoon, but was in the right place at the right time to deal with another emergency.
One appliance and the tanker were turned back by Houhora, which reached Te Kao first, and was unable to find a fire. As they were turning around at Ngataki, however, they were waved down by tourists who reported a motor vehicle accident nearby. A Nissan had crashed at the junction of Ngataki Road and the state highway, the firefighters removing the roof to extricate the elderly male driver, who was the only occupant, from the vehicle. His injuries were described as minor to moderate.
Meanwhile two appliances and the tanker responded to an alarm at 1.45 yesterday. Station Officer Ross Beddows said it was initially feared that a house in the He Korowai Trust development in Kohuhu Street was ablaze, but it was actually a pampas windbreak at the rear of the subdivision.
It was well away by the time the appliances arrived, the crews using multiple deliveries and foam to extinguish about 20 metres of pampas, which was no great distance from a couple of houses.
"Excellent work was done to stop the spread of the fire, and although some fence battens were scorched the farm gates and fences were saved," he said.
