Crisis unites Wairarapa fire crews

THUMP: Three drivers walked away from what was almost a head-on collision on SH 2 near Opaki on Tuesday afternoon. PHOTO/ALISA YONG

Firefighters from several Wairarapa towns joined forces when two cars collided north of Masterton only minutes after a large grass fire broke out in the town.

Wellington area Assistant Commander Nick Pyatt said about 20 firefighters from Masterton and Carterton had battled a blaze that erupted in tinder dry grass and underbrush on the banks of the Waingawa River near Hood Aerodrome about 4.30pm on Tuesday.

He said another fire crew from Greytown had been scrambled to a crash at Opaki on SH 2 north of Masterton less than 20 minutes later. Wairarapa rural firefighters were also on hand at the blaze.

He said the grass fire had scorched an area of more than 200sq m and involved five fire engines and crews who took about 45 minutes to contain the blaze using water drawn from the river.

"It was quite an effort at first to get a water source established but once we had that, we got on top of it pretty quickly and, in conditions like this, we need to make sure it's well and truly extinguished before we leave."

Mr Pyatt said the prohibited fire season had started yesterday and an investigation had been launched into the cause of the riverside blaze.

There had been reports of people in the area immediately before the fire broke out.

At the same time, three drivers were lucky to escape injury in what was initially thought to be a head-on collision on SH2 near Opaki.

Two fire appliances, an ambulance and several police cars were called to the crash, which left broken glass strewn across one side of the highway.

Acting Sergeant Eugene Moore said a young female driver in a south-bound Toyota ute swerved into the path of the oncoming vehicles.

"It veered across the road into the oncoming traffic ... close to the centre line but then came back in."

The elderly female driver of one north-bound car was able to pull over on to the verge to avoid the ute, but another car, a Mazda hatchback, collided with the ute.

The cars had "narrowly missed" being involved in a head-on collision in what appeared to be a case of driver inattention. Traffic on SH2 was reduced to one lane while police spoke to witnesses and examined the scene.