KEY POINTS:
Two houses were gutted by fire last night in blazes the Fire Service suspects were linked to Guy Fawkes celebrations in Hamilton and Turangi.
But overall, the Fire Service said it was a relatively quit night.
Auckland communications centre shift manager Jaron Phillips said last night was
about three times busier than an average Monday night in the northern region.
It was not yet known precisely how this year stacked up with other Guy Fawkes nights, he said.
"But overall it was a lot quieter than what was expected."
There were a few significant structure fires, he said.
Fire destroyed a home in Turangi after a 13-year-old boy threw a sparkler through a window. He was detained by police.
"Occupants in that home have lost everything," Mr Phillips said.
There were two house fires in Hamilton, one in a house under demolition, and the cause of these was still being determined.
In Auckland a fire set on the outside wall of a Grey Lynn house was being treated as arson, and a fire at the Sandringham and Kingsland Plunket rooms was also being treated as a suspicious blaze.
Central region communications centre shift manager Mike Wanoa reported a steady night.
"We had a very, very quiet night last night, surprisingly," he said. "It was quite steady, but usually we're a lot busier than that."
The centre fielded 46 fireworks related calls, but also had other fires to deal with that were not caused by fireworks, he said.
The most major fireworks related fire was a house fire in Palmerston North which began at just before 3am.
The South Island fared best, perhaps due to bad weather in the region.
"We had a very, very quiet night last night, with only about 28 calls all night," Christchurch communications centre shift manager Brian Sharpe said.
"Some of those would be fireworks but we haven't actually received causes as yet."
It was raining in Christchurch, windy in Nelson and cold in Otago, Mr Sharpe said.
Earlier yesterday the fire service said a fire on Te Mata Peak near Hastings just after 3pm may have been caused by fireworks
The weekend lead up to Guy Fawkes was busy for the fire service nationally and at least five people hospitalised with fireworks injuries.
For those leaving it to the experts last night public displays were held around the country.
In Wellington a warm, still night was the perfect backdrop for an estimated 100,000 spectators who flocked to the waterfront or surrounding hills for the capital's annual event in which fireworks are launched from barges in the harbour.
The 13th annual celebration saw $100,000 worth of fireworks spectacularly light up the night sky in an 18-minute extravaganza.
The future of retail sales of fireworks remains up in the air, with the Government waiting to hear from the fire service and police before deciding whether sales should be banned, Prime Minister Helen Clark said yesterday.
Last year was one of the worst Guy Fawkes on record, leading the Government to tighten fireworks sales - reducing their availability from 10 to four days, raising the age at which fireworks could be purchased from 14 to 18 years and limiting the sale of sparklers.
Emergency Services attended 1561 fireworks related events nationwide in Guy Fawkes week last year.
Miss Clark said the Government would follow very closely what happened this year.
Miss Clark said two cases were fireworks displays had gone wrong causing injury would be investigated by the Department of Labour. It would look at the training given to those certified to mount public displays, and the requirements would be reviewed if found lacking.
Fireworks rules worldwide:
In the US, California has restricted fireworks usage to devices that do not leave the ground, while states such as New York, Massachusetts, and Delaware ban all consumer fireworks.
In the UK, fireworks cannot be sold to people under the age of 18 and are not permitted to be set off between 11 pm and 7am.
In Canada, the explosives Regulatory Division (ERD) of Natural Resources Canada regulates all explosive articles and substances including fireworks.
In Australia, fireworks can be sold to residents 18 years or older during the week leading up to the Queen's Birthday long weekend.
In China, the city of Beijing lifted a 12-year ban on fireworks in 2005. The new rule has allowed Bejingers to let off fireworks within the city's Fifth Ring Road during Spring Festival (China's Lunar New Year).
- NZPA, NZ HERALD STAFF
