LUCY CRAYMER
Firefighters at the Napier Fire Station received twice as many callouts as normal at the weekend as they were forced to deal with the fallout from fireworks in the city.
Senior station officer Brian Dunphy said the fire service responded to 32 calls from Friday through to this morning -
20 of them fireworks related.
And Guy Fawkes itself was a busy night, with nine call outs. Mr Dunphy said the service was called out to several bonfires last night.
A fire ban was in place from Ellison Road through to Bay View at the weekend.
"People either weren't aware or were ignoring it."
Two schools, Westshore Primary and Napier Intermediate, received damage after fireworks were shot at shade sails.
"There were several grass fires and if they were not accidental, they were at least suspicious," Mr Dunphy said.
On Saturday night, firefighters were called to a fire started by a teenagers throwing a catherine wheel down a bank into dry vegetation on Bluff Hill. By the time the fire truck reached the scene the teenagers had managed to extinguish much of the fire.
The crew was also called to a bonfire in Bay View but it was under control.
There were several rubbish bins on fire - an event not necessarily directly related to fireworks, but more common around Guy Fawkes.
Napier firefighters were busier this year than last - and it's not over yet.
Mr Dunphy said more fireworks-related callouts were expected in the next week.
Things were quieter in Hastings.
Senior station officer Denis O'Leary said there were only nine callouts there at the weekend.
Fireworks were posted in the mail slot at the PostShop in Ruataniwha Street, Waipukurau, on Friday night, causing a small amount of damage. Anyone who posted mail after 5pm Friday is asked to pop into the PostShop to check their mail was not damaged.
* Today the Fire Service said it was resolute in its lobby to ban fireworks.
