A fire investigator has confirmed a high-voltage powerline was the likely cause of a New Year's Eve blaze that destroyed a shed packed with fireworks.
The fire on Paihia Rd, Kawakawa, sparked a major emergency response because the shed contained 300kg of fireworks plus cyanide and Ferrotox for possum control.
A crew from Kawakawa Fire Brigade was joined by two fire appliances from Paihia, three from Kerikeri and one from Kaikohe as well as a paid crew, a volunteer operational support unit and the "Hazmat" hazardous materials command unit from Whangarei.
Shed owner Hadyn Wills, a commercial possum trapper and fireworks retailer, told the Advocate he believed the fire had been caused by a high-voltage powerline falling onto his property.
Power company workers had replaced fuses on a transformer next to his drive just two weeks earlier, he said.