Pleased at fireworks ‘clean slate’

IRRESPONSIBLE: Firefighters have had a very quiet fireworks season and they are rapt about it. The one significant blot on the public behaviour over the weekend involved a bonfire that a fire crew put out on Sunday morning at Midway Beach (pictured). 'We were disappointed. It was irresponsible,' a senior firefighter said, 'and the users left their rubbish behind.' Picture supplied

The region's firefighters were “ecstatic” about the fireworks behaviour across the region this Guy Fawke's season, with not a single fire caused by wayward fireworks.

There was a clean slate for such fires across Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights in Tairawhiti.

There were a couple of calls to beach bonfires that had been left burning on the city beachfront including one at Midway Beach on Sunday, and one incident involving a backyard bonfire in Mangapapa that was put out.

“We were called down to Midway at 6.30am yesterday (Sunday) to put out a fire that had been left burning in some logs, which was disappointing,” a senior Gisborne firefighter said.

“But apart from that it was a very quiet weekend fireworks-wise and we're ecstatic about how well the cracker season went.”

It was noticeable that there were fewer fireworks going off around the city over the weekend.

“Overall it's a very pleasing result.”

Principal Rural Fire Officer Ray Dever said behaviour was very good right across the region, with no fireworks-related calls anywhere else.

“It's been an amazing result, and it comes down to good behaviour and people using their common sense.

“Well done the community. It's been magic.”

Mr Dever said the Tolaga Bay surf lifesaving club's bonfire building competition went off a treat.

“We had about 30 fires burning on the beach on Saturday night, and just about everyone in the town was down at the beach.

“There would have been about a thousand people down here having fun.

“To use that word again, it was magic.”