The driver of a volunteer fire engine which crashed on the way to a house fire in Murupara, east of Rotorua, was not licensed to drive the vehicle, according to police.
The vehicle left the road on a bend and plunged down a bank on June 8 while the volunteer service was responding to a house fire in Waiohau, near Murupara.
Sergeant John Wilson said the driver had been issued an infringement notice for holding the wrong motor vehicle class licence and for failing to keep left.
He said police did not prosecute the driver, a man believed to be in his 40s, as other factors including the size of the vehicle and a wet road could have contributed to the accident.
Fire crew were wearing seatbelts at the time and no one suffered serious injuries.
Commander Jim Stephens, of the Fire Service, said it was a chief fire officer's responsibility to ensure firefighters complied with the law.
The driver was still with the brigade and would not face disciplinary action. He would be allowed to drive fire engines if he gained the appropriate vehicle licence.
Mr Stephens said no further action would be taken and police had been satisfied the man was competent to drive the vehicle at the time of the accident.
- NZPA
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