Hot exhaust on bus blamed for fire
A fire that obliterated a bus and the possessions of 48 travellers at a Cromwell fruit stall was caused by the hot exhaust contacting a dry garden plot.
Cromwell fire chief Steve Shaw said it appeared that when the bus was lowered to allow passengers to disembark, it was close to a dry garden plot covered in woodchips.
‘‘The exhaust, we suspect, has got too close to the garden or on to it,’’ Shaw said.
‘‘It’s quite normal for them to do that but the extreme [weather] conditions mean that ... there’s just no moisture in anything.’’ It was unfortunate, Shaw said. ‘‘Any other day and it wouldn’t have happened.’’
The 48 passengers had to stand by and watch all of their possessions, including passports and travel documents, burn in the intense heat of the fire but he understood the travel company was looking after them now.
There had been a little rain in Cromwell in the past 24 hours but it was superficial and would dry within an hour or two, Shaw said.
Pacific Tourways general manager Doug Kirk said the company, which owns the bus and employs the driver, was still investigating the incident.
‘‘I’m waiting for the fire report and we’ll be taking it from there,’’ he said.
Representatives of The Travel Corporation, which had chartered the bus, have yet to comment.
The Central Otago region has been hit by several fires in the last week, including the 200-hectare fire on Roy’s Peak, in Wanaka, which broke out on Wednesday and threatened homes and holidaymakers.
Yesterday morning, ground crews were continuing the painstaking work of uncovering and extinguishing hotspots.