Firefighters stand by for a busy time

FILE

The Rotorua Fire Brigade received just one fireworks-related callout on Guy Fawkes night but a station officer says they are not out of the woods yet.

Firefighters were called out to a small vegetation fire, believed to be caused by fireworks, in Glenholme around 6pm on Thursday.

Station officer Tony Kelly said while the brigade was relatively quiet on Guy Fawkes, it expected busier nights over the weekend.

"With Guy Fawkes being on a school night, I think people were pretty tame, but we're not out of the woods yet.

"People will likely continue letting off fireworks over the weekend and we are preparing to be busier than usual."

Mr Kelly said it was important to reiterate fire safety messages ahead of the weekend.

"Use your head. Don't go pointing fireworks at each other or at buildings. If you are going to let some off at home, make sure you're in an open space and have water nearby."

Nationally it was a different story with 117 fireworks-related calls - double the amount of callouts in recorded for November 5 last year.

Fire Risk Management national advisor Todd O'Donoghue said the end result was "disappointing".

"It is concerning that the number of events that were fireworks related tie up fire service resources that could be required at anytime for other emergencies. While dealing with the 117 incidents above we did have to respond to other calls across the country including a number of structure fires.

"With some people waiting for the weekend to celebrate Guy Fawkes with a good old Kiwi barbecue, we must continue to take the opportunity to warn the public to stay safe."