Fire danger all around so please be careful

Heat, oxygen and fuel - there's just too much of each right now.

I AM losing track of the number of car crashes and scrub fires the Times-Age has been covering.

Car crashes at this time of year completely perplex me, but vegetation fires in summer are almost self-explanatory.

Nonetheless, it is getting distressing to see how many the fire service and brigades are having to deal with, considering the magnitude of the land area they have to cover.

The stamina of the crews amazes me, particularly considering the protective equipment they need to do the job is not kind in the sort of temperatures we're reaching. I've always assumed the gear was simply to protect firefighters from burns, but I've since learned how injurious smoke can be, even when it doesn't seem particularly threatening.

But it's the sheer vulnerability of the region, in near-drought conditions, to fires. I can spend time and a few curses in winter trying to coax a flame out of my reluctant wood burner, while my dogs lie hopefully on the floor, waiting for some heat. Yet on Monday, a single spark - one single spark - from a mower hitting a sharp object, causes a fire across two paddocks, wiping out a shed and coming damn close to claiming a small house. Heat, oxygen and fuel - there's just too much of each right now.

Then, later in the day, Masterton and Mauriceville are called out as a long stand of toitoi goes up in flames alongside a road. The cause? As the fire officer in charge put it, it could be anything. It's probably cigarette ash.

Unbelievable. It makes me reflect that it's an easy and uncomplicated life being a townie. I'm close to services, I maintain a little property, and there's a fire hydrant with good pressure just over the road.

We have been very lucky in Wairarapa with the skill of our combined fire crews and the lack of high winds just at the moment. I like to think people aren't generally idiots - we're smart enough not to light campfires or beach fires at this time of year - but since it would only take the smallest thing to get a savage fire going, we've got to be so careful. This is our community. We're not just passing through - we live here. You've seen how bad fires can get in Canterbury - or in Australia, for that matter. We're better than that.