The fire as seen from Derek Heke's home on Sunday night. Photo / Derek Heke
A Northland man avoided losing his home in a ferocious wildfire because he "did everything right" to safeguard his property and family, a senior firefighter says.
Last Sunday a small rubbish fire at a rural property near Rawene spread into kikuyu grass and then into scrub and mature pine forest.
The resulting blaze covered 6ha, took days to put out and forced two families to flee their homes.
The flames also came close to the Rawene Rd house where Derek Heke lives with his three children but left it unscathed.
Fire and Emergency staff say the home's survival was due not to good luck but to Heke's good preparation.
Heke saw the flames as he was driving home on Sunday evening and at first thought his house was on fire.
He reassured his terrified children, aged 6, 8 and 10, the flames couldn't reach them because of the fire break he'd put around the house. He'd also kept the grass around his home cut short and got rid of vegetation in key areas.
By nightfall, the fire had advanced through the pines to the edge of his fire break, close enough to feel the heat. "It wasn't enough to cook mutton chops, but it was hot."
Heke praised the volunteer firefighters who dropped everything to douse the blaze.
"They came from all around the North, they're really good guys. They were up at my place for three days."
The latest wildfire was only 600m from a blaze in January 2021 which also forced locals from their homes and burned for days.
After the previous fire, Heke spoke to a local firefighter who told him he would have lost his house if the flames had got any closer.
That spurred the tow truck driver into action.
He cut the long grass and cleared vegetation around his property, then borrowed a digger and cut a broad firebreak around his home, scraping the land back to bare earth.
He urged other Northlanders to get ready before summer arrived and the fire risk shot up. Even a mowed lawn made a big difference, he said.
"People need to bloody get on to it," he said.
Michael Champtaloup, a community readiness advisor for Fire and Emergency NZ, praised Heke's preparedness.
"He did exactly the right thing and it saved his house."
"The fire went up to his home, then around it along the fire break. Without that fire break, the house would've been in real trouble."
The first 111 call came in at 5.50pm on Sunday. Fourteen fire trucks responded, including a water tanker all the way from Paparoa, along with three helicopters with monsoon buckets at first light the next morning.
The fire was contained by Monday evening with contract fire crews spending the next few days mopping up and extinguishing hot spots.
Champtaloup said the conditions were challenging with steep terrain, dense scrub and high winds.
Northland Ferries put on after-hours crossings to get Kohukohu and Broadwood brigades across the harbour on Sunday night.
Heke's home was on a slope and surrounded by large trees on a neighbouring pine block as well as areas of scrub, making it vulnerable to fire, Champtaloup said.
After the 2021 blaze, he was given advice about creating a "defensible space" around his house by cutting a firebreak and planting low-flammability plant species.
"Derek took the advice to heart and created a very substantial fire break and removed vegetation in other key areas. His house is extremely important to the well-being of his whānau. He wanted to do as much as he could to protect his family home from fire," Champtaloup said.
"Our climate is changing and fires that endanger homes are becoming more common. The safety zone around this house has almost certainly saved it from being destroyed by fire."
The blaze was started by a neighbour burning rubbish, which showed fires could escape even in an open fire season.
"If you light a fire, you're responsible for it. Make sure you stay with your fire and you have a way to extinguish it if it escapes," Champtaloup said.
Heke said he went to see the neighbour, who is believed to be new to the area, intending to "give him a growling".
"But I couldn't do it. I just asked if he was okay."
Rawene fire chief Zak Bristow said more care and sense were needed, especially with summer approaching.
"We had such a beautiful still morning — then in the afternoon the wind came up and this guy lit a fire."
■ Go to www.fireandemergency.nz for details of how to protect your property from fire. Go to www.checkitsalright.co.nz to find out if it's safe to have a fire, get a free fire permit if needed and advice on how to burn safely.