111 operator asks where Southland is

A man who watched his bus burn in front of him is unimpressed the fire communications centre did not know where Southland was.

Greg Sayers was outside his family's partly converted small bus in Edendale, 39km northeast of Invercargill, when he noticed it was on fire and called 111, the Southland Times reported.

The operator put him through to fire communications, but told him no one was answering, Mr Sayers said.

The operator then tried a different number, but the new operator was unsure of where he was in the country, he said.

"I said Edendale and she said 'where's that?' and I said Southland and she said 'where's that?"'

Southern Communications Centre manager Iain Lynn said staff had been occupied with other calls and Mr Sayer's call was answered in Auckland.

Staff in Auckland had listened to the tape and there was no indication the operator did not know where Southland was, Mr Lynn said.

The centre was investigating the incident.

Mr Sayers said his main concern was that he was not connected to an operator on the first call.

Once the call was reported, emergency services responded promptly and efficiently, Mr Sayers said.

The bus was gutted in the fire and the cause was still being investigated.

- NZPA