Firefighters tie up alleged attacker

File photo / Bradley Ambrose

Northland firefighters were forced to tie up a man who allegedly became enraged and attacked them as they were dealing with a burning car on a beach.

A nearby resident called 111 just before 5pm yesterday after seeing smoke billowing from the mangroves at the end of Beaufort St, off State Highway 11 near Opua in the Bay of Islands.

The Paihia fire brigade arrived to find a car ablaze among the mangroves and flames spreading into grass.

Senior Station Officer Michael Fayne said he alerted police because the fire was suspicious.

The volunteers had the fire under control when an aggressive man, solidly built and in his 30s, came striding down the beach towards them.

"He was nutting off at us, saying we'd murdered his dog. Then he started getting physical."

Mr Fayne called police again and was given the all-clear to subdue the man if he became violent.

When he allegedly attacked one of the volunteers, the others tackled him to the ground and trussed his arms with rope.

One of the firefighters held his legs until police arrived.

He was still shouting abuse as two police officers handcuffed him, put on leg restraints and with difficulty got him into the back of a patrol car.

It was unclear whether the man had had anything to do with the car or the fire, Mr Fayne said.

He had seemed upset about his missing dog, but had remained enraged even when the animal had re-appeared from bush unharmed.

That left firefighters with the problem of retrieving the man's jacket, blanket and other belongings, about 100m up the beach and fiercely guarded by another dog.

An SPCA Bay of Islands inspector was called in to coax the dog to her car.

The dogs will be held by the SPCA.

Mr Fayne said the man might have been affected by drugs or alcohol and was expected to appear in the Kaikohe District Court today.

The firefighter initially attacked was uninjured.