Firefighters stunned by the kindness of a stranger in Orewa cafe

A warm-hearted "Lady in Pink" and her unexpected act of kindness has left a team of volunteer firefighters in north Auckland feeling like "stunned mullets".

Breezing into Orewa bakery, Dear Coasties, last Sunday, the Lady in Pink headed straight for the cashier and paid the bill for table 27.

Four crew members from Silverdale Volunteer Fire Brigade were sitting at the table, grabbing a quick break as they worked a 24-hour shift battling a vegetation fire in nearby Dairy Flat on Auckland's outskirts.

They had been "quietly savouring their brunch and coffee, completely unaware of the kindness that was to be bestowed upon us by a total stranger", one of the crew members wrote on the Orewa Beach community Facebook page.

The unnamed Lady in Pink strolled across to the firefighter's table, popped the receipt on to the table and wished them a happy New Year.

"Suffice to say the four of us were absolute stunned mullets at the time and couldn't get out the right words to say [thank you] before you left," the crew member wrote.

Not catching the woman's name and being lost for words at the time, the crew member posted to the Orewa Beach page to properly thank her.

They said the woman paid for four meals and drinks that kept the firefighters well nourished when they rejoined the fight against the Dairy Flat blaze.

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"So, Lady in Pink - a very heartfelt thank you from Sunday's Red Watch crew at the Silverdale Volunteer Fire Brigade. You are a beautiful human being."

"Ah, there is an angel out there - and she happened to be in Orewa today," Facebook user Lesley Segetin commented on the post.

"A wonderful gesture - so nice to see good things happening in our community."

"A great opportunity to say thank you to all the volunteers out there," Cathy Richard Boylan wrote.