Fires

As flames burst from an elderly couple's Fairfield house yesterday, there was a moment of indecision for two boys on their way to school - should they call "the fire guys" or not?

Police have lauded the "valiant actions" of neighbours who smashed a window to save a child trapped in a Paraparaumu house fire, which claimed one life.

Monty's Bar and Restaurant and neighbouring premises were evacuated when a chimney fire apparently began yesterday about 5pm.

A "malacious" fire in the greenwaste pit by the Ranfurly rubbish dump, fanned by high winds, continued to be a problem for the Ranfurly Volunteer Fire Brigade yesterday.

Quick work by an alert householder - and then firefighters - probably prevented a major blaze in the Closeburn area near Queenstown on Sunday night.

The Waimate fire which blazed across 178ha just before Christmas has still not been declared officially out, a formal process which South Canterbury principal rural fire officer Rob Hands is cautious about rushing into.

The Fire Service is investigating whether a small boy playing with a lighter started a house fire which nearly claimed the lives of his mother and twin siblings in south Auckland yesterday.

It may be the new year, but it's the same old problem of more couch fires in North Dunedin.

One of the country's oldest department stores escaped extensive damage when a sprinkler system activated and put out a fire which could have destroyed the building.

Firefighters are expected to continue working through Christmas to control a blaze which covers about 95 hectares of forestry on Mt Allan.