Quick action by Ruakaka firefighters stopped a scrub fire lit by a horse trainer from threatening animals in nearby paddocks.
The incident has prompted a senior firefighter to warn those who held fire permits to be careful while lighting scrub fires as conditions were still dry.
Bart Wichmann, owner of
Northland Equestrian in Ruakaka, rang Ruakaka Fire Station on Monday morning to tell firefighters of his plans to burn rubbish left behind by the previous owner of a property he had moved into. He was given the green light but things did not go to plan.
"The wood I was burning had some sort of oil in them and the flames were higher and hotter than expected," he said.
Ruakaka Fire Brigade Station Officer Jeff D'Ath said Mr Wichmann did everything right but people needed to exercise caution around fires.
