12 December 2014

Spate of rural vegetation fires bring warnings

Rotorua Lakes Council’s rural fire fighters are warning of the risk to property or even loss of life in rural areas if people fail to heed fire warnings.

The call for residents to take particular care in rural areas follows an earlier plea from the Rotorua Fire Service about fire risk in urban areas from barbeques, bonfires or carelessly discarded cigarette butts.

The council’s rural fire team has had to respond to four vegetation fires in the last two weeks alone and there are concerns that weather conditions could result in more fires over summer.

Deputy Principal Rural Fire Officer, Richard Horn, is reminding all Rotorua residents of the requirement to obtain a fire permit before lighting any outside fire in rural areas, including barbeques or braziers unless they are gas fuelled.

“Of the four vegetation fires we’ve had to deal with recently, three of them had the potential to become much bigger and could have got out of hand. Last Saturday [6 December] we managed to contain one fire to just 2.5 hectares, but it was lucky that there weren’t buildings on the property or the consequences could have been much more serious.”

Mr Horn said there was a cost to the community to fight fires and there was also the possibility of other costs in terms of damage to property and farms. He said carelessly lit fires could also tie up resources that were needed elsewhere for more serious structure fires or vehicle accidents.

“Our enemy at the moment is the pattern of strong daily winds which tend to peak early to late afternoon. People need to be vigilant and very conscious of weather conditions before lighting any fire, no matter how small. All four of the recent fires could easily have been avoided if more care had been taken,” he said.

Current restrictions mean a fire permit is required before any fire can be lit in rural areas around Rotorua district. There is no fee to apply for a permit, which can be issued by one of three rural fire authorities in the area.

For more information on fire permits or advice on safety with fires contact Rotorua Lakes Council of 07 348 4199.

ENDS

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