A small pile of plastic and scorch marks were all that was left of the rubbish bin. Photo / Supplied
A small pile of plastic and scorch marks were all that was left of the rubbish bin. Photo / Supplied
Most people would suspect that middle of the night phone calls never deliver good news, but 90 Mile Motors manager Shelly Matthews wasn't expecting the text message she received in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Matthews, who manages the service station in Awanui's main street, was asked if sheknew there was a fire on the forecourt.
It was a small fire, deliberately lit in a plastic rubbish bin immediately adjacent to one of the bowsers, and the Kaitaia Fire Brigade, which was roused at 1.29am, extinguished it quickly, but the police are very keen to identify the culprit.
They were trawling through CCTV images yesterday in the hope of doing that, while the bowser was checked to ensure it had not been damaged.
A CCTV camera inside the premises captured clear images of the flames, which by the time the brigade arrived were shoulder-high, she said. All that remained by the time the brigade had done its job were a small pile of plastic and scorch marks on and around the bowser.
Matthews said the fuel pumps were turned off at night, and she wasn't sure how great a risk there had been of a cataclysmic explosion, but fire brigade Station Officer Eddie Bellas said it was very lucky that the flames had not penetrated the bowser and reached the underground tank.
