That's the message from Gisborne Chief Rural Fire Officer Rene Londeman after he and dozens of other firefighters battled to extinguish a probable arson fire on the city's landmark Kaiti Hill.
After two hours the 7ha scrubfire was out. But not before flames had literally licked the backyard fences of houses in Cambridge Terrace beneath the hill. That however wasn't the only worry for firefighters, Mr Londeman told Suite101. Of greater concern was that a light wind blowing at the time might have fanned the flames uncontrollably up the slope to more houses further beyond.
Two helicopters had been essential in helping to quash the blaze. More than 40 monsoon buckets, holding about 40,000 litres of water, had been dropped on the scene. On the ground, fire crews had extracted hundreds of thousands more litres of water out of street hydrants, Mr Londeman said.
While firefighters had managed to control the fire on this occasion, the outcome could have been much worse, he said. Referring to the catastrophic bushfires in the Australian state of Victoria last year, he said it wasn't just people overseas who had to fear that kind of disaster.
Gisborne Chief Rural Fire Officer Warns of Increasing Fire Risk
Even now at the beginning of the fire season, Gisborne was tinder dry, Mr Londeman said. Bushfires by any means of ignition, were a real risk. People here could potentially lose their homes to a bushfire, Mr Londeman said.
Some Kaiti Hill residents Initially Oblivious to the Fire Danger
Meanwhile, relieved Cambridge Terrace residents told the author the blaze had taken them completely by surprise. Anthony Patuwai who lived just a few houses from the thick of it, said he had been watching television and was totally oblivious to the scene outside his window. He did not even smell smoke.
It was only when a neighbour knocked on his door that he was made aware the danger. Shortly after, firefighters had given him and other residents the official word to hurry out.
A huge crowd of onlookers had been quick to join them curbside.
While the fire had been a close call, Mr Patuwai said he felt safe to sleep at his house that night.
"These guys have done an awesome job of putting it out," he said.
"They (the firefighters) were really fast."
Mr Patuwai's younger brother Jesse Patuwai, 13, and his friend Cory Barber, 12, said they had been at a skateboard bowl on the other side of the neighbourhood when they noticed smoke billowing from the direction of their street.
On the way home they had joked that it might have been one of their houses burning down.
Kaiti Hill Bushfire Could Be Third Arson Fire in as Many Days in Gisborne
The Kaiti Hill fire was the third suspicious fire in as many days in Gisborne. All were being investigated by Police. A major fire in a lumber yard two days earlier was reportedly said to have started in a bush on the other side of a small river with flames having lept the waterway. Just hours later, firefighters were called to a car fire in a nearby towing yard.
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