A fire crept through the walls of a home being renovated in 17th Ave last night after workers using a gas torch on copper wire failed to protect a wall.
Tauranga Fire Service station officer Steve Wright said gas fitters who had installed a hob during the day had not protectedthe wall lining during gas torch work on copper wires, causing a small fire to start under the weatherboards of the house.
The fire continued to burn, creating smoke which then travelled through the wall's hollow around the house, eventually coming out through a renovation hole in the laundry area of the house.
The couple smelled the smoke and called 111 at 7.15pm. After some searching, Greerton firefighters located the fire and put it out after pulling off three weatherboards.
Mr Wright said the couple was lucky to have been awake to smell the smoke, as they did not have smoke alarms installed.
The incident highlighted the importance of working smoke alarms, even for a home in the process of being renovated, Mr Wright said.
At 2am Mount Maunganui and Papamoa volunteer firefighters were called to apartments on Papamoa Beach Rd, at Parton Rd, where a fluorescent light had overheated. The light emitted a stench of smoke but failed to created much damage or fire risk.
Firefighters were also called to several false alarms overnight, including two at the Port of Tauranga.
