Driver swerves at fire truck

17th January 2006

A Hastings market gardener, upset because he believed fire appliances were blocking the entrance to his roadside shop, angrily swerved his light truck at a fire engine as he drove past shortly after the confrontation, say firemen.

The Sunday incident stunned Fire Service senior station officer Kerry Harford, who says that if firefighters had been getting out of their truck at the time the man drove past, the man's truck would have "taken the door off" the appliance.

It was the second incident involving the man in 10 minutes.

"It (the truck) was really close," he said.

"It rocked the cab with the wind as it went past. It almost hit the mirror. It was bizarre."

The near-swipe came when the fire service answered what turned out to be a false alarm at Gracelands Retirement Village in Pakowhai Road.

It came soon after appliances were called to a minor crash in which a car travelling along Pakowhai Road collided with a car turning out of Elwood Road.

It was at that crash, to which the service was called at 9.42am, that the firefighters first encountered the man.

Mr Harford said that according to safety practice adopted after a firefighter was killed at a motorway crash scene in the Auckland area in the early 1990s the two fire trucks were parked strategically either side of the crash to protect the site and emergency workers from other traffic in the northbound lane.

One truck was parked part-way over the entrance to the fruit shop, but vehicles were still able to get in and out, Mr Harford said.

"While I was dealing with the incident, this guy was getting stuck into my officers," Mr Harford said.

"He was tooting his horn at us. We went over and he told us we were being dangerous."

As he ordered the firefighters off the property, they got their call to the retirement village, and left, but it was moments later as one truck was waiting across the road that the man drove past.

"He almost caused another crash, just to make a point," said the officer.