A large barn and a garage have been badly damaged in fires just a day apart in the Kaikohe area.
The garage fire on Kauri Place started just before noon yesterday, destroying a Skyline-style garage at a rental property.
Kaikohe fire chief Bill Hutchinson said quick action by the neighbours, who used a garden hose to keep the fire at bay until firefighters arrived, stopped the blaze from spreading.
The 7x9m garage was "pretty much destroyed", Mr Hutchinson said, but most of its contents, including weight-lifting gear, bikes and a lawnmower, were saved.
A day earlier, about 4.20pm on Sunday, the brigade had tackled a much larger fire in a farm shed on Picadilly Rd in Tautoro. Up to two dozen calves were in the shed at the time but farm staff managed to get the gates open and let them out before any were hurt.