Ōtorohanga
November 25: At 2.46 am, the brigade was called to an incident phoned in as a head-on crash at Hangatiki, but it turned out to be the aftermath of a ram raid. The brigade secured the scene and directed traffic.
Later that day, (6.18pm) the brigade was called to a controlled burn-off in Waitomo Valley Rd. Action taken was limited to the brigade dampening down the area surrounding the fire.
Ōtorohanga fire chief Neville King said he was disappointed that though the resident had called in their intention to light the fire to the Waitomo District Council, council staffed failed to pass on the information to Fire and Emergency NZ (FENZ).
The brigade had been using its Facebook page to urge the public to let the authorities know in advance if their intention was to undertake a controlled burn-off.
“The alternative is for members of volunteer brigades like ours to have to take a lot of time off work. This is especially important with the winds we have at the moment.”
Currently, south-westerly winds seemed to pick up in strength from the middle of the afternoon onward. He recommended starting a controlled fire in the morning, when there was little or no wind.
“A lot of people start them up in the afternoon. So, of course, they burn into the night and that’s when people start calling them in and getting us out of bed in the middle of the night,” Neville said.
Benneydale
November 23: At 10.43am the brigade was called out to put out a deliberately lit vegetation fire at Waimiha.
Benneydale fire chief Murray Paterson said four fires had been set in scrub and blackberry on Waimiha Rd just north of the village.
It was the second such incident there within about a month.
“As vehicle access was zero and the prospect of walking to the scene very challenging, a helicopter was brought in from Taupō.
The chopper worked for about two hours to put the fires out.”
Murray said the previous time fires were deliberately lit in the area, a person was seen doing this on the side of the road.
“But the witness doesn’t really want to come forward in case of retaliation – so obviously this becomes an issue as well.”
FENZ was investigating.
Piopio
November 25: At 2.05am crews from Piopio and Te Kūiti responded to a ram raid on the Piopio Food Mart in Moa St.
The brigade secured the scene until police arrived and left it in their hands.
At 1.45pm crews from Piopio and Te Kūiti responded after the rider of a large touring-type motorcycle crashed opposite the Piopio/ Aria Golf Club on SH3.
They had apparently tried to pull over onto the water table at the side of the road but had lost control in metal.
The rider suffered minor injuries and was transported to Te Kūiti Hospital.
Te Kūiti
November 28: At 5.16 am the brigade assisted Hato Hone St John Ambulance staff following a medical emergency in Lusk St.
