Traffic blocked for chopper landing

Kaitaia's Chief Fire Officer Craig Rogers guiding the rescue helicopter down on to Fairburn Rd on Thursday. Photo / Peter Jackson

Firefighters stopped traffic in both directions on Fairburn Rd on Thursday afternoon to allow a Northland rescue helicopter to land on the road, near the limeworks.

A St John ambulance crew and and Kaitaia fire appliance responded to the medical emergency, but the patient, believed to be a young woman, was delivered to Kaitaia Hospital by ambulance after being driven the short distance from her home to the chopper.

Pilot Matthew Parker put the helicopter down in a strong sou-westerly wind, with guidance from Chief Fire Officer Craig Rogers, who said the paddocks on either side of the road were too soft to take the weight of the machine.