A 40-year-old tenant of a house on Georges Drive, Napier, was arrested for obstruction when her LPG bottle caught fire, torching the side of her home and fence.
Police, an ambulance and two fire appliances arrived at the house after neighbours saw the flames coming from the side of the
woman's home yesterday.
Firefighters said it was contained within five minutes, while the burning LPG tank took another five minutes to vent.
There was some slight damage to the property next door but, despite initial concerns, it did not catch fire.
Neighbour Nesbit Stevens said he saw the woman leaving the property with a bottle of wine in her hand, and police said she later returned and tried to breach the cordon. She was arrested for obstruction and they had to let her sober up yesterday afternoon before questioning her.
