Jet ski ignition sends one to Christchurch by air

One resident was transported to Christchurch Hospital by helicopter in serious condition, while two others were taken to Ashburton Hospital in moderate condition following a fire that erupted in a driveway in Tinwald last Wednesday.

Emergency services received the call at 5:38 p.m. regarding the explosion and resulting blaze on Nursery Drive. Hato Hone St John deployed three ambulances, one helicopter, and an operations manager to the scene. Police assisted with traffic management as crews worked to contain the flames.

Ashburton Volunteer Fire Brigade chief Jeff Marshall said the initial fire started on a jet ski parked on a trailer in the driveway. The flames spread to a second jet ski before four crew members, wearing breathing apparatus, extinguished the fire. Marshall noted that neighboring properties sustained no damage, though a car in the same driveway suffered residual heat damage to its tail light.

The following Monday night brought a second major incident for Ashburton firefighters. At just before 10 p.m., crews responded to a 300-meter hedge fire in the Coldstream area. Strong winds pushed the flames toward a nearby house, prompting eight appliances from Willowby, Geraldine, Rangitata, and Ashburton to attend. Crews focused on the tree line to control the fire and saved the structure, remaining on the scene for nearly three hours.

An hour later, at 11 p.m., the Ashburton Brigade joined units from Geraldine, Rangitata, Temuka, Pendarves, and Mayfield for a tree and scrub fire in Lowcliffe. Marshall reported the fire covered an area of roughly 30 meters by 10 meters along a fence line. Some appliances from the Coldstream incident were redirected to this second fire. Crews did not return home until after 2 a.m.

In a related incident last Tuesday at 11:30 p.m., the Rakaia Volunteer Fire Brigade responded to a two-vehicle collision at the corner of Hatfield Overdale Road and State Highway 1. Chief Tyrone Burrowes said a vehicle failed to stop and clipped the front of a truck. Firefighters kept both lanes open by slowing traffic and cleared debris from the road.

Police issued one driver an infringement notice for the Rakaia collision. A Hato Hone St John spokesperson stated that all patients in the vehicles declined assessment from the responding ambulance crew.