Residents are being reminded to use the ‘metre from the heater’ rule after fireys were called to a house fire in Allenton last week.
Ashburton Volunteer Fire Brigade chief Jeff Marshall said the cause of a fire at Kelvin Cres last Thursday was a wood basket placed to close to a logburner.
‘‘It is important to remember not to place paper, kindling or wood within a meter of a heat source,” he said.
Two trucks attended the scene, which Marshall said could have been a lot worse if not for the smoke alarms detecting the smoke early.
‘‘When we arrived the smoke alarms were screaming.
“The lady of the house did all the right things by shutting all the doors before leaving the house and waiting for us,” he said.
Later that day, the brigade were called to a fire at the Creek Road Fish and Chip shop.
Marshall said the owners had been there earlier in the day, but weren’t there at the time. It was 3.40pm.
‘‘Thankfully a passerby saw the smoke and called it in.”
‘‘The fire was was contained to the storage area in the back of the shop, so the customer area wasn’t too badly effected, but we did have to gain entry via the front door.”
Meanwhile, in Rakaia, the Rakaia Volunteer Fire Brigade were called to a two car accident at the intersection of Somerton and Wilkinsons Roads, Chertsey on Saturday.
Chief Tyrone Burrowes said they were called out at 10.25am to a car verse truck incident.
‘‘All the occupants were out of the vehicles when we arrived. It appears someone failed to give way,” he said.
A spokesperson for Hato Hone St John said they sent one ambulance to the scene.
‘‘Our ambulance staff assessed four patients at the scene, three of which were in a minor condition and one in a moderate condition.”
‘‘No transportation to hospital was required.”
A police spokesperson said enquiries into the cause of the accident were ongoing.
