Visiting the scene of the Paihia fire are, from left, Northland principal rural fire officer Myles Taylor, FENZ region manager Ron Devlin and Paihia deputy fire chief Sandro Schuetze. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Visiting the scene of the Paihia fire are, from left, Northland principal rural fire officer Myles Taylor, FENZ region manager Ron Devlin and Paihia deputy fire chief Sandro Schuetze. Photo / Peter de Graaf
People who repeatedly ignore Northland's fire ban by lighting rubbish fires can be hit with costs of $1500 to $10,000, a top fire boss says.
Fire and Emergency NZ (FENZ) Auckland/Northland manager Ron Devlin visited Paihia on Wednesday to see first-hand the scene of a fire which threatened at least 10 houses.
The fire started on the shore between Te Haumi and Sullivans Beach about 10.30pm on Sunday then swept through bush and pines towards Binnie and Veronica Sts.
Arson or a campfire are the likely causes.
The investigation is continuing but Devlin said the time, location and conditions on the night pointed to a campfire.
With more than 100 avoidable fires in Northland so far this fire season he urged people to heed the fire ban.
''A total fire ban means people should not be lighting any fires, including rubbish fires ... In these conditions a fire can have catastrophic consequences,'' he said.
Firefighters from Kaikohe's Silviculture Contracting dampen down hotspots in bush between Te Haumi and Sullivans Beach. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Devlin said FENZ's preference was to educate people about the risk but if that didn't work repeat offenders could be issued with infringement notices. Those could range from a warning to costs of $1500 to about $10,000.
No infringement notices had been issued in Northland so far this fire season but FENZ was seriously considering a number of cases.
Devlin said the message was getting through to most people with a lot of awareness of the risk created by the drought.
''People are reporting more fires, the community is more aware. Sadly there is an element of the community, either they are unaware or they just don't care.''
Until recently the Rural Fire Authority was able to order fire-starters to pay the costs of putting out fires, which can run into hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The new legislation which created FENZ in 2017, however, does not allow for cost recovery.
Devlin said cost recovery was essential for the old Rural Fire Authority, but FENZ had been set up and funded differently.
"It was very, very scary"
A Canadian couple had a terrifying start to their New Zealand holiday when a late night bush fire came within metres of burning down their Paihia accommodation.
Amanda and Hedley Swan from Ottawa, in Canada, arrived at their Airbnb on Veronica St about 6pm on Sunday after driving from Auckland airport.
The fire was so close firefighters wouldn't let her go back into the house at first to get their passports. When they relented a firefighter escorted her inside just long enough to grab her bag.
"The fire was so close I thought it was in the house. It was very, very scary," Amanda Swan said.
The couple continued their journey on Wednesday by flying to Hawaii. The experience hadn't put them off New Zealand.
''This can happen anywhere. I will come back if I can,'' she said.
Veronica St resident Jane Banfield also had a frightening, sleepless night.
''The scariest thing was waking up because there was a bright light outside, looking out and seeing the hillside on fire, and not knowing what on earth to do. It's the powerless feeling,'' she said.
Banfield ran next door and banged on the door until the tenant woke up, then did the same at their downstairs flat.
''I thought I'd better put some things in my car so I was running around the house thinking what's really important — and then I thought 'it's just stuff'. You realise what's of value. Then it was just being awake all night, waiting to see if my house was going to burn down.''
With the fire still burning the next morning, seeing the helicopters arrive at first light was ''the most reassuring thing''.
