Lightning shorted out the doors for the police station in Kaitaia yesterday.
Lightning shorted out the doors for the police station in Kaitaia yesterday.
Kaitaia police staff were trapped in their station by a fierce electrical storm that jammed automatic doors and disconnected phone lines yesterday.
Firefighters responded to three fire alarms, seconds apart at 1.37pm, in the hospital boiler room, J block at Kaitaia College and the police station, all located on RedanRd.
No fires were found so the alarm activations were thought to have been triggered by a lightning strike.
The police lost power and phones and were briefly unable to open their electric sliding door.
Senior station officer at Kaitaia Fire Brigade, Ross Beddows, said the police station's front automatic doors became jammed, prompting mostly administrative staff to exit through a side door.
A change of wind to south west today would drag cold air from Canterbury towards northern parts of the North Island that would result in a cold and windier weather in Northland today and tomorrow, WeatherWatch's Philip Duncan said.
Another front on Saturday could bring some thunderstorms, he said.
