Welder's spark causes hay barn fire

Waihi Fire chief Moe Stevens and his crew attended a hay barn fire in the township last night. File photo.

A fire ripped through a hay barn and implement shed at a Waihi farm property last night, which was partially destroyed, after a spark from a welder lit a hay bale.

Waihi chief fire officer Moe Stevens said the brigade was called to the Mathers Rd property just before 5.20pm and found the 30-foot long and 15-feet high structure, which was half barn and half implement shed, well alight.

Mr Stevens said the fire started while one of the occupants was welding lugs onto the steel uprights of the shed to renew the wooden beams, and one of the hay bales caught fire.
"One half of the structure is okay, but the other part was completely destroyed, " he said.

Mr Stevens said attempts were made to completely extinguish the fire.

"But because the fire was on the top of rise, we would have needed a digger to spread the burning hay around and it was too late. In the end we just had to leave the fire burning."

Mr Stevens said a tanker from Paeroa and the Pumicelands Moana zone rural fire manager, Alan Pearce also attended,

The fire was still smouldering on the ground this morning, he said.

Mr Stevens said it was not known whether the property owners were insured.