North Island firefighters battle at least 32 fireworks-related blazes overnight, sheds, backyards set alight

Fireworks kept firefighters busy across the North Island overnight with at least 32 fires.

One of the major fires was a grass fire at Scott Point Beach in Auckland’s Hobsonville.

A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said a fire truck attended at 8.22pm and the fire was extinguished quickly.

Residents posted on Facebook saying they saw plumes of smoke in the air and tall flames roaring close to a home.

Further north in Stanmore Bay, a garage was also set ablaze by fireworks.

The spokesperson said two fire trucks battled the fire from 9.30 until 11pm.

A New Lynn resident said on Facebook that their property was set alight by a neighbour’s rogue firework.

“Please be careful, someone just set my backyard a blaze,” the person wrote on a local community page.

An NZME photographer who rode along with Fire and Emergency overnight said crews were “kept busy” and received a “steady stream of calls throughout the evening for bush, tree, and grass fires caused by fireworks”.

A Fenz spokesperson for the central areas of the country said they had 10 fireworks-related callouts overnight, mostly from Hawke’s Bay.

They said the wet weather kept most of the fires small and prevented many people from lighting fireworks.

Yesterday, Fire and Emergency said the risk of fire was “heightened” due to drier-than-normal conditions this year.

Animal activists were concerned for pets and continued calls for the fireworks for personal use to be banned.

Animates chief executive Neil Cowie told The Front Page it was not only November 5 pet owners have to worry about.

“The bigger issue is the stockpiling of fireworks that get set off throughout the year, which really compounds the stress and the danger to animals,” he said.

“As a pet owner, I can take steps to safeguard my pets, look after them, lock them inside. It’s when you least expect it down the track that the real dangers and distress to animals come to the fore.

“I really feel for the wildlife, the birds, our livestock, horses, for instance. If you don’t have the ability to look after your horse and put them in a stable the consequences can be quite catastrophic.”

AA Insurance underwriting manager Nancye Maloni told The Front Page the company’s fireworks survey reveals Kiwis support a fireworks ban in our backyards.

“When asked if there should be a ban on fireworks, 54% of those surveyed supported a ban for recreational use, while an additional 17% wanted to go further and have fireworks banned entirely,” she said.

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