Northland news in brief: Clothes dryer fire, principals' action, teachers' pay parity and more

The Waipū Volunteer Fire Brigade were called to this dryer fire. Photo / Supplied

Clothes dryer fire

A chief fire officer is reminding people to clean the lint filter on their clothes dryer before every use, after a fire on Saturday. Waipū Volunteer Fire Brigade chief fire officer Chris Westlake said crews were called to the dryer fire about 10.20pm on Saturday. He said it appeared a lint filter on the dryer had not been cleaned, and it was "very very lucky" the fire was isolated to inside the dryer. Westlake said the dryer was removed from the house, and what was left of the clothes was removed before crews hosed it down. Other safety messages were to ensure the dryer goes through the full cycle and cools down before opening it, ensure proper ventilation and air space around the dryer, install a heat - not smoke - alarm in the laundry.

Principals take action

Some Northland principals will tomorrow begin action around their stalled collective agreement negotiations. They will gather outside the Auckland Ministry of Education headquarters in Whangārei about 9.45am to call for new talks and an improved offer from the ministry.

More teachers ratify settlement

Teachers in area schools and wharekura have voted to ratify a settlement to their collective agreement negotiations. The settlement comes after area school and wharekura teachers joined with their primary and secondary colleagues in the largest education strike in New Zealand's history on May 29, and follows primary teachers voting to ratify their settlement earlier this week. Area school teachers, who are jointly represented by NZEI Te Riu Roa and PPTA, will move onto a new unified base pay scale from today which will give pay parity with primary and secondary teaching colleagues. NZEI Te Riu Roa President Lynda Stuart said the outcome was important for area school teachers and wharekura kaiako.

Three win share of Lotto $1m

Three lucky punters will be celebrating after winning $333,333 each with Lotto First Division on Saturday. Powerball was not struck and will rollover to Wednesday, rising to $8m. The lucky numbers were 07, 10, 18, 19, 20, 37 with bonus ball 29 and Powerball 07.