Logging truck fire on Wharekopae Rd, driver escapes uninjured

A log truck was gutted by fire early Tuesday morning on Wharekopae Rd past Ngātapa School.

• A log truck fire on Wharekopae Rd was extinguished by Fire and Emergency NZ crews.
• The driver escaped unharmed after smelling burning and pulling over.
• A truck rollover on State Highway 2 at Matawai blocked a lane; no injuries reported.

A log truck driver on his way to collect a load, smelled something burning and discovered a fire in the engine compartment.

The blaze engulfed the front of the vehicle.

Fire and Emergency NZ was called about 4am on Tuesday and dispatched two crews from the Pātūtahi volunteer brigade and one from Gisborne city to Wharekopae Rd.

The incident happened past Ngātapa School.

“The unloaded log truck was fully ablaze, totally involved, when the first crew arrived,” a senior firefighter told the Gisborne Herald.

“The driver had got out of it okay, without injury.

“He told us he could smell burning as he drove along, so he pulled over to investigate.

“When he got out of the cab, he saw a fire starting in the engine compartment. It took off to engulf the whole of the front of the vehicle.”

When fire crews from the Pātūtahi volunteer brigade and Gisborne city arrived, the truck's engine and driving compartments were fully ablaze.

The crews were there for two hours extinguishing the fire and making the scene safe.

“We would have put 8000 litres of water on to it to put it out,” the firefighter said.

“The road stayed open because the driver had pulled off to the side of the road when he smelled the fire starting.”

Gisborne Hiabs was called in to recover the wrecked vehicle.

The fire was to be investigated.

Meanwhile, a lane of State Highway 2 north was blocked at Mātāwai on Tuesday after a truck rollover about 11.15am.

Police said there were no injuries, but motorists were asked to drive with care at the crash site.