Irritated firefighters had to educate a Canterbury man about the dangers of lighting a backyard rubbish fire after a neighbour saw the smoke and flames and phoned 111.
The Hampstead resident called the Ashburton Volunteer Fire Brigade last Thursday night because they thought the house was on fire.
Brigade chief Jeff Marshall said they responded to the call-out at 11.05pm and found themselves in a role of educating a man who was burning rubbish in a hole in his backyard.
‘‘He was a bit oblivious to what he could and shouldn’t be doing,’’ Marshall said.
Regional council air quality rules forbid burning outdoors on properties under 2ha.
Environment Canterbury’s website says offenders can be fined $300.
‘‘The only exception is outdoor cooking, including barbecues, pizza ovens, ha ¯ng¯- or umu, if the smoke is not offensive or objectionable beyond your property boundary,’’ the website says.
Meanwhile, Ashburton firefighters extinguished another fire the following day, in a 10m-by-10m area of vegetation on the northern bank of the Ashburton River, near the State Highway 1 bridge on its eastern side.
Marshall said the fire was suspicious and being investigated.
On Monday, firefighters from Ashburton and Willowby extinguished a blaze about 1.50pm in 50m of pine hedge on a farm at Willowby.
The fire was suspected to have started by a spark from an old burn in a nearby pit.
On the same day, Hinds firefighters attended a tractor fire, about 2.50pm.
Chief Dave Kingsbury said the tractor operator had been working in the middle of a paddock when all of a sudden smoke and flames came from the engine.
