Dannevirke daycare centre evacuated after fire threatens gas cylinders

Volunteers firefighters battle a blaze in a Dannevirke garage on Monday afternoon. Photo / Christine McKay

With fears of exploding gas bottles, the occupier of a Dannevirke property did all the right things when his garage went up in flames on Monday afternoon.

The fire was well involved when the Dannevirke Volunteer Fire Brigade was called to the scene, but the occupier had evacuated neighbours, including a daycare centre behind the property.

"When gas bottles are involved 200 metres surrounding the area must be evacuated and the man did all the right things, including giving fire comms all the right information, so we knew on route what we were dealing with," Dannevirke fire chief, Pete Sinclair, said.

"Shed fires are one of the most dangerous fires we attend. Sometimes we don't know what's in the shed, it can be anything from chemicals to guns."

Sinclair said it was fortunate fire control had been well informed in this case and two appliances from Dannevirke and one from Woodville were called to the scene.

"We had the fire under control in 30 minutes and then spent time cooling down the gas cylinders," he said.

The garage was gutted and engineering tools lost.